I'll Be Right Here
by mygyps17
Summary: You'll be very confused if you read this without reading 'When Clark Comes Back' and 'I promise' first. Seriously. But this story is mostly about Chloe and Lana's pregnancies and the effects they have on everyone.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: **I do not own anything Smallville related, not the characters, or the show; nothing.

**A/N: **It's been two weeks, and since I promised you guys…..

~~{(o)(o)(o)(o)(o)(o)}~~

I wake up suddenly. Instantly, I realize I'm alone. If Clark were here, I wouldn't have had the nightmare in the first place. He would've kissed me and held me until I fell asleep; while I slept; and until I woke up.

But sometimes; like tonight, he has to leave me.

He has to save somebody's life.

I get up, grab my phone, and walk over to the guest room. It used to be Clark's, but with Mrs. Kent gone, we share the master bedroom now.

"Lois," I knock once and head for the bathroom, secretly hoping she hadn't heard me and that she's still asleep. I could do without an audience, even if it is just Lois; but I promised Clark. And since he's letting me keep this secret, I've vowed not to break any other promises I make to him.

I kneel before the porcelain goddess and wait for it. I should've gotten a pillow or something to sit on, but I wasn't thinking properly. I'll do it next time.

Nothing happens. I frown, not liking this one bit. Not that I actually _want _to throw up; but there's something almost comfortable about knowing what's going to happen, even if it's not a good thing.

I tense up as a slow throbbing begins at my right temple. I don't know if this is good or bad; skipping the vomiting and going straight to the headache. Does that mean I won't puke at all, or will it come _after_ this? Frankly, the idea doesn't appeal to me in the least. I'd much rather do it the regular way.

The "puke first, headache later" way.

I hold my breath as stage two of 'the headache' begins. I'm not supposed to because it actually makes it worse; but I can't help it. I'm no psychologist; but I figure in a situation like this, where everything is out of my control, like speech, mobility, coherent thoughts; I need to be able to have power over _something; _and breathing is the only thing I can manage to control.

'_Great. Now I sound like a cutter.'_

"Chloe," Lois says sleepily and sits down behind me.

She wraps an arm around me and tells me to breathe. I do, but only so she doesn't have to 'wake up'. Right now, she's on autopilot; she's done this way too many times.

She rubs my back soothingly and leans against me, not because she's trying to make me feel better, but because she's trying to get comfortable so she can go back to sleep.

I'd smile if I could.

"Lois," I can hear Clark whisper her name; then I feel him shake her awake.

"What," she starts.

"You can go back to sleep now. I've got her."

"Okay," Lois agrees with a heavy yawn before leaving.

She used to linger for a few minutes to make sure I was okay. Not anymore; which is fine by me. I feel too guilty about waking her up in the first place to actually care if she leaves me with the overprotective man that is my husband.

"Chloe?"

His voice has a slightly panicked edge to it; and it makes me want to roll my eyes. Unlike Lois, I don't think he'll ever get used to this.

I pat him on the arm quickly to let him know I'm fine, as speaking is actually something I'm incapable of at the moment.

He responds by holding me tightly against him and rocking me like a baby.

'_It's almost over.' _I think to myself before bracing myself for the worse and last part. I've got this down almost to a science. The grand finale should be here in three, two, one…

I still completely, holding my breath and biting my lip so that I don't cry out. It only alarms Clark when I do.

And then it's over; as if it never was.

I take several deep breaths and underhandedly grab my phone from beside the toilet. You'd think Clark would notice with his heightened senses; but usually after one of these things, he's too focused on me to notice anything else.

I text the word 'fine' and press the send button. Even though my phone is on silent, I know Lana just texted me.

"Okay?" Is what the message said. Not that I looked at it; it's the same one every time.

As quietly as possible, I slide the phone away from me. It ends up behind the toilet, which is exactly where I was aiming.

I stand up quickly; which was dumb because I'm still a little shaky.

Clark tries to help me up, but I push him away; not that I'm 'pushing him away', I just want him to see that I'm fine; and that I can do it myself; and maybe he'll stop worrying about me so much.

Yeah right.

"Chloe"-

"It's just a headache Clark. They're normal during pregnancies."

"Those aren't regular headaches," he rebuttals.

"Yeah well, this isn't exactly a normal baby," I reply absently.

He looks at me as if I'd just slapped him across the face while wearing a ring made of kryptonite. I suppose metaphorically speaking, I just did.

Inadvertently, I'd just implied everything I'm going through right now is his fault; because he impregnated me with an alien baby. It's not what I meant at all, but of course Clark won't see it that way. The guy blames himself for natural disasters; why wouldn't he blame himself for _his_ baby causing his wife pain too? I really need to watch what I say.

"Clark, I didn't mean it like that. I just"-

"I'm sorry Chloe," He cuts me off and cups the side of my face.

"Clark, you don't have anything to be sorry for," I sigh.

He doesn't agree with me. I can see it in his face as he pulls me into a hug. He'd just rather not argue about it; because it would be a waste of time. Nothing I say is going to change his mind.

I squeeze my eyes shut. He's hurting me. Not on purpose of course. I didn't tell him my breasts suddenly became a little tender a couple of days ago. We don't really 'talk' anymore, not since I asked him if I could keep my secret.

He holds onto me for a good while; I grit my teeth and ride it out. If I tell him he's hurting me, I'll have to endure yet another round of apologies; and I'd rather not.

"This is the last time," He mumbles.

"The last time what?"

He looks down at me; then loosens his hold on me. I breathe easier, but I don't like that look on his face.

I don't think he meant for me to hear him.

"The last time what, Clark?" I repeat.

He fixes his face into that of resolute determination; which means, we're probably going to argue.

"I'm not leaving you alone at night anymore."

"Lois is here. I'm not alone," I point out.

He shakes his head.

"I don't want you to go through this anymore."

"So what are you going to do when you hear someone's cry for help; ignore them so that I don't have a _nightmare_?" I scoff, purposely downplaying the effects of the nightmare so that he can hear just how ridiculous that sounded.

He doesn't answer; apparently, it doesn't sound ridiculous to him at all.

"That's really…stupid," I say for lack of a better word.

He blinks at me.

"It is, and if you're actually considering it, I'm not going to speak to you for a month."

I can see him fight back a smile; then he leans in and kisses my forehead.

I knew I was right.

"Let's get you back into bed."

"I need a shower."

"You need sleep," he disagrees and tugs me a little toward the door.

I dig my heels into the tile. I'm not going to bed like this.

"But I'm sweaty…and sticky," I whine. "And I need your help."

He pauses.

"With your shower?"

"Uh huh," I nod my head and put my hands straight up in the air.

"You want me to undress you," He asks, failing to disguise the hopeful lilt at the end.

He doesn't give me time to answer. He's already taking a hold of the hem of my shirt and pulling it up over my head.

I smile up at him as he blatantly checks me out. I've nearly gained a full cup size over the last few weeks.

His expression abruptly changes from one of lust and anticipation to annoyance. Somebody needs his help.

I put on a smile for him. "Go on Clark."

"I don't want to leave you," he leans his forehead against mine and sighs.

I tilt my chin upward and kiss him softly.

"I'll be right here when you come back," I whisper.

"Remember what happened the last time you said that," he jokes.

I stiffen a little.

I do. I remember _everything;_ but he doesn't know that. And I'd like to forget it.

I kiss him again and turn so that I can turn the water on.

He's still behind me. I can feel him.

"Seriously Clark, go," I say without looking behind myself.

And by the time I turn to look at him, he's gone.

~~{(o)(o)(o)(o)(o)(o)}~~

**A/N: **Next post will be Sunday, June 13th.


	2. Chapter 2

"You're still up?" Clark asks as he breezes into the bedroom.

"I told you I would be."

"But it's late."

I glance up at the clock.

"No, it's early. I'm gonna go put on a pot of coffee," I tell him while getting up off of the bed.

"You don't drink coffee anymore."

'_I know that.'_

"No; but I like the smell," I say as I'm walking past him.

"I've got a better idea," he says before grabbing my hand and leading me over to the bed.

"Like what?" I smile.

My smile quickly turns into a frown when he tucks me in and places a kiss on my forehead.

This is not what I had in mind.

"Sleep," He commands. "I'll bring your breakfast up in a little while."

"What if I don't want to sleep?" I nearly yawn, but fight it back.

'_Jeez Sullivan, just prove his point why don't you?'_

"What _do_ you want?" He smiles; giving me the feeling that I didn't hide the yawn as well as I thought I did.

"Stay and talk with me," I plead. "We haven't really talked in a long time."

"That's because _you _don't want to talk."

'_Here we go again.' _I think to myself and roll my eyes.

I should've just kept my mouth shut.

"Clark,"-

"When you want to talk, we'll talk," he cuts me off.

"So you're saying you don't want to talk to me until I tell you my secret?

He shrugs.

"That's not fair," I exclaim as if I haven't learned over and over again how unfair life truly can be. "I didn't do that to you when you wouldn't tell me yours."

"That was different. I was protecting you."

"What if this isn't so different?"

He wrinkles his eyebrows.

"What if I'm protecting you?" I finish.

'_I said 'what if'' _I think to myself so that I can convince me that I'm not lying.

And I'm not. Sort of. In a way, I _am _protecting Clark; albeit from no one other than himself, but it still counts.

"I don't need you to protect me. I need you to trust me," he says gently before sitting down beside me and taking both of my hands in his. "

Chloe, think _really _hard, and tell me the truth."

He makes sure he's staring me straight in the eyes as he asks for the truth.

Is there _any _chance, even a small one, that keeping this secret from me could hurt you or our baby?"

"I"-

"Don't answer yet. Just think about it; think long and hard, and then answer."

I sigh and close my eyes.

I don't know. I've been able to breathe easy because of Lex's current state of health, and the fact that it's now being induced by Lana.

She didn't mean for me to find out; I just walked in on her tampering with his I.V. one day and made her tell me what she was doing. And when I found out she was _keeping_ him under, she didn't have to tell me once, let alone twice, to keep my mouth shut. Let the bastard sleep forever is what I say.

He kidnapped me, held me for a week, then let me go. I doubt he intended for me to live because he planted a bomb in my chest. Obviously, I survived. And then…nothing.

He just left me alone, which is the part that has me worried even though he probably won't be waking up soon thanks to his fiancé.

It's probably why I'm still having these damn nightmares.

I'm still afraid.

"Chloe?"

Damn. The answer to his question is a firm yes.

I shouldn't have kept this from him.

I hate it when he's right. But I still wish I didn't have to tell him. He's gonna be mad at me for months.

I get my wish as the smell of coffee makes its way upstairs and churns my stomach. I cover my mouth, run to the bathroom and empty my already empty stomach.

"Chloe?"

I don't even have the energy to shoo him away; much less answer him.

Minutes pass and I'm still going strong. It makes me panic. Pretty soon there won't be anything left in my body _to _up-chuck.

"Chloe!"

I take that back.

"That's blood!"

He doesn't have to tell me that. I already know.

"Coffee," I gasp.

"Is it making you sick or do you need some," he asks without missing a beat.

"Sick."

Half a minute later, I feel perfectly fine. I take a few more seconds to catch my breath and stand, only to have Clark sit me back down.

"Easy Chloe, just a wait a few okay?"

"My phone"-

"I'll get it."

When he leaves, I get up and rinse my mouth out. If I didn't do it soon, I was going to vomit again.

Through the mirror, I can see him walking back in.

He's frowning down at my phone.

'_Uh-oh.'_

"Why did Lana text 'are you okay?' just now?"

"Text her back and tell her I'm fine," I shrug.

He doesn't do it; just stares at me via the mirror because I haven't turned around yet.

Apparently, he's unsatisfied by that answer.

I turn around and make a grab for the phone. If I don't text her back, she'll probably come over.

Clark moves my phone out of my reach and begins to look through it. I assume he's checking the history. I should've deleted the messages, but I just never got around to it.

I can see the exact moment he puts it all together.

"How does she know to message you _every _time something like this happens?"

"Clark, I need to message her back," I ignore his question.

I have every intention of telling him what I know; but first I need to let Lana I'm okay before she starts to freak out.

"It has something to do with your secret, doesn't it?"

"Chloe," Lois opens the door without knocking and hands me her phone. "Your girlfriend wants to talk to you."

I quickly take the phone before Clark can snatch it away.

"How'd she get my number anyway?" Lois asks.

"Lana?" I say instead, choosing to ignore my cousin.

"Chloe, I've been"-

"I'm fine," I interrupt before she can say anything I don't want Clark to overhear just yet. "Clark's taking care of me."

"Okay," She says taking the hint; but before I can tell her 'bye' and hang up, Clark takes the phone from me and walks out of the bathroom.

"So," Lois says.

I groan. I'm not really in the mood to hear dirty jokes about me and Lana.

"You're gonna have to start giving me money."

"Why?" I wrinkle my brows at her.

"Because, now I have to go out to get my morning coffee, as opposed to getting it for free here at home."

"Okaaay," I roll my eyes at her and make an attempt to walk past her. She steps in front of me blocking my path, and holds her hand out.

"Now?" I question. I didn't know she was serious; which was really dumb. When is Lois _not_ serious about her coffee?

She nods her head; _seriously._

"Fine," I relent "But you're gonna have to move because I don't have any money on me right now."

She steps aside, and follows me into the bedroom. She's so close she actually steps on my heels. Twice.

I fish the money out of my purse quickly and hand it to her; but when she tries to take it, I hold onto it tightly. Not because I'm teasing her, but because Clark just walked in. And he looks…mad.

'_What the hell did Lana tell him?'_

"Chloe, give it to me," Lois tugs on the money, grabbing my attention.

"Oh, sorry," I mutter and let go. Then I sit down on the bed. Might as well be comfortable when he kills me.

She doesn't even acknowledge my apology as she rushes past Clark, then backtracks.

"Phone," she commands.

He hands it over without looking at her.

She doesn't even notice, her sole focus is on coffee; and she doesn't even say goodbye as she rushes out of the door.

Clark barely waits a second later to begin.

"Lana says she's twelve weeks pregnant; same as you," he states, but I can tell it's a question so I nod my head.

"She said the doctor confirmed it."

Again, I nod my head.

"Not nine weeks or less," he says. Another statement that sounds more like a question.

I hesitate, not knowing where he's going with this; and not sure I should answer at all. It sounds like a trick question to me.

"Chloe?"

I answer truthfully with a negative shake of my head.

He kneels down before me and places both of his hands on my thighs; more so to keep me still than as an intimate gesture.

"That's impossible." He tells me.

I raise my eyebrows at him. It almost sounds as if he's accusing me of something. I just don't know what it could possibly be.

"Just before I found out you were pregnant, _three_ weeks pregnant, Lana fell. I x-rayed her to make sure she was okay. She wasn't pregnant then."

My eyes widen and before I can fully process that information, Clark continues with a, "but you already knew that didn't you?"

I shake my head "no", but he obviously doesn't believe me.

"Tell me what's going on," he commands.

Tell _him _what's going on?_ I_ barely know what's going on anymore. What the hell does he mean Lana wasn't pregnant before? How is that even po- I pause mid-thought as an idea comes to me. An extremely heinous idea.

"Chloe?"

I ignore him and continue to brainstorm.

'_Lana's baby is affected by kryptonite; which means she's his still; but'-_

I seriously hope what I think happened didn't. I liked it better when I thought Lana got pregnant by Clark the old fashion way.

"What did you just say?" Clark asks while tightening his grip on my thighs. If it weren't for that, I probably wouldn't have heard him; much less acknowledged him. I'm still pretty much in shock; though I shouldn't be. Nothing Lex does should shock me anymore.

"Chloe, answer me."

"What?" I start.

"You said," he swallows a few times before continuing. "You said Lana's baby is affected by kryptonite."

'_shit' _

I did _not_ mean to say that out loud.

"Did I?" I ask. He gives me 'the look' and I sigh. I knew that wasn't going to work.

I take a deep breath and remove his hands from my thighs. Should he, no, _when_ he gets angry, I don't need him to tighten his grip on me anymore than it is now. I like being able to walk.

He places them on the bed, on either side of me.

They're still too close.

"I know where I was when I was taken," I say when I finally get the nerve.

He blinks at me. I don't think he expected anything quite like that.

"And who took me," I finish slowly, nervously watching his hands as they clench at the sheets tightly.

"Tell me," he commands through clenched teeth.

"But"-

"No buts Chloe." He places a gentle hand on my stomach; on his baby. "Please."

I shrug my shoulders; trying to mentally trick myself into thinking that I don't care what Clark's going to do to Lana's fiancé when I tell him; trying to mentally trick myself into thinking Lex deserves whatever Clark's going to do to him.

"Chloe," Clark warns.

"It was Lex," I finally answer with a resigned sigh. "Lana showed me where he kept us."

"Us?"

"He took us both," I admit.

"And gave Lana's baby kryptonian DNA," Clark assumes.

"I don't think so Clark. I think…"

"What?"

"I think she's carrying our child. Our _other _child," I clarify for him.

"Two?" he gaps at me. "Twins? You were…"

I watch his entire persona change, and I can literally feel the anger radiating from his skin.

Then, he's gone. Just like that.

I take back what I thought earlier. No one deserves whatever Clark is going to do to Lex.

I almost pick up my phone to warn Lana, but really; what good would it do?

He's probably already there.

~~{(o)(o)(o)(o)(o)(o)}~~

**A/N: **next post will be Thursday, June 17th


	3. Chapter 3

It's nearly dark when Clark comes back.

I'm almost relieved. I've been alone all day and slowly going _completely_ insane. If it weren't for Mrs. Kent, I probably would've forgotten to eat as well. My mother-in-law has taken to calling me at least four times a day just to check in; and I've come to look forward to them. Except for today.

Every time she called, I was slightly disappointed. I'd been hoping it was Clark.

Then he storms in, and snatches the front door open. As far as appearances go, he barely applied any force; but the door comes _completely_ off its hinges, and he carelessly tosses it outside.

'_shit.'_

"Where is he Chloe!" he yells while angrily marching up to me.

I take an involuntary step back.

"Who? Lex?" I ask.

It's a mistake as I'm pretty sure that he's talking about Lex; and now it looks like I'm stalling or something.

"You _know_ who! Tell me where he is!" he shouts while grabbing both of my arms.

I'm amazed he's not hurting me. I can't even image the amount of restraint it's taking for him not to apply any pressure to my arms in his current state. All the same, I tug my arms free from his grasp, doubting it will please him to know that I _don't_ know where Lex Luthor is.

"I don't know," I answer honestly.

Effortlessly, he picks me up, and sets me down on the counter. I'm thinking he didn't like the way I snatched away from him because he's trapped me here. With his arms placed on either side of me and the way he's standing between my legs, I'm not going anywhere.

"Don't. Lie. To me," He whispers; and I suddenly wish he'd go back to the yelling.

"I'm not," I say staring him down, just as intensely as he's watching me. "Is that where you've been all day? Looking for him?"

"You shouldn't have kept this from me," he says, his voice begins to get louder as he realizes I'm telling the truth. "You should've"-

"And what were you going to do when you found him?" I interrupt.

"I was going to make sure he never hurt my family again," He says fiercely.

"How?" I demand.

"What the hell happened to the door?"

"Nothing," Clark and I answer Lois together.

"_Nothing_? It's on top of your _car; _and don't tell me some freak wind came and blew it off again," she warns after sitting her purse on top of the table and giving us her full attention.

"Some freak wind came and blew it off again," Clark answers tersely before snatching me down from the counter and marching me toward the stairs.

"I'll be _so _glad when this 'make like the bunnies' phase is over," I hear her mutter. I would have smiled if that was actually what we were going to do. As it were, I'm in a lot of trouble so I won't be smiling anytime soon.

Once we enter our bedroom, Clark shuts the door behind us and locks it.

I suddenly feel a little claustrophobic.

"Alright, let's talk," He says while folding his arms over his chest.

I wait for him to continue.

He doesn't.

"Talk?"

"Talk."

"About?"

"Everything."

'_Could he be any vaguer?'_

"Specifically…" I prompt.

"Let's start with the _real_ reason you kept this from me."

'_Real reason? I didn't know I had a fake one.'_

"You weren't protecting me," he continues. "You were protecting yourself."

And now I'm completely lost.

"Clark, what are you talking about?"

"The fact that Lana is pregnant with my child."

"What? That makes no sense. She's pregnant with _our _child."

"You didn't always know that; did you?"

"No; but"-

"You thought I got her pregnant and you didn't"-

"Seriously? You think I was afraid you'd leave me for Lana if you found out she was carrying your child as well? Honestly Clark, the thought never entered my mind."

It's easy to tell he doesn't believe me, and that irks me to no end. Sort of. Okay not really. Considering how many times I've lost Clark to Lana before, I wouldn't believe me either. I'd think the way Clark is thinking; that I found out Lana was carrying his child and kept the information to myself in order to keep Clark to myself.

But I'd like to think that I'm not that selfish. I'd like to think that if that was the case, I'd let Clark go to Lana. Honestly, it would probably be better for Clark to be with Lana. With the whole maniac for a fiancé thing she's got going, she certainly needs him more.

"I heard you two talking. I heard Lana tell you that I love you; and I heard what you said," Clark interrupts my thoughts.

"_I know he does, just…not the same way he loves you."_

That had been my response. It was, _is_ the truth as I know it.

"Look Clark, despite everything that's happened between us, _all _of us, I'm not threatened by Lana. Has it ever occurred to you that I just might _trust_ you not to hurt me that way?"

"Or maybe, you're holding back emotionally just in case I do."

"Thank you Doctor Phil," I say with a roll of my eyes.

"Well, am I wrong?"

'_No. I mean, yes. Maybe. I don't know.'_

"Chloe," he takes a few steps toward me. "Did it ever occur to _you_ that I might actually _want_ to be with you?"

I can honestly say it hasn't; but I keep my mouth shut. I don't think that's the answer he's looking for.

"Think about it. I went to the dorm and"-

"You were high Clark; you weren't exactly yourself."

"I wasn't _high_, I was infected by red K; which strips me of my inhibitions and frees me to do whatever I want."

"And what you _wanted_ was to get laid A.S.A.P," I say before sitting down on the bed, my feet are killing me. "How exactly is that supposed to make me feel better?" I smirk.

"I'm _serious _Chloe."

So am I. Despite the flippant and nonchalant tone I used; that's pretty much what I believe happened. And I'm okay with it; really.

"Why do you think I married you?"

"Again Clark, you were high. People do stupid things when they're high," I answer.

He sighs out of frustration; obviously not liking the fact that I'm rationalizing everything and tries again.

"I didn't just marry you; I gave you a wedding, complete with witnesses, the dress, the ring, and the honeymoon."

"The ring and dress were stolen, and the witnesses were complete strangers," I smirk. I can't think of anything I didn't like about the honeymoon though.

"Kal meant well," Clark smiles; finally easing up a little.

I roll my eyes. He and Kal aren't the same person _only _when it benefits him.

"If I'd done it, I would've done it right," Clark tells me.

"No, you wouldn't have," I smile softly. "You wouldn't have done it at all."

I halfway expect him to deny it; but we both know I'm right. H

e sits down beside me and takes my hand in his.

"Do you remember Cyrus Krupp?"

I wrinkle my eyebrows.

"The kid who thought he was an alien?"

"Sometimes, I swear your memory is almost as good as mine," he chuckles.

Meanwhile, I'm more than confused. What does Cyrus have to do with me and Clark?

"Do you remember what you said to me when I asked if you thought he was an alien?"

"Vaguely. I might've said I thought it'd be cool if he was," I frown. I'm not sure. It happened about four years ago.

"You did; you also said, "Compared to most people, aliens would be a step up,"" he smiles at the memory; then slowly the smile fades. "I asked Lana about it later; about how she would feel about Cyrus if he was really from another planet. She said she'd be a little freaked out," he finishes with a shrug.

My heart goes out to him. I thought loving someone who didn't love me the same way I loved him was bad. I can't imagine loving someone the way Clark loved Lana, but keeping the most important parts of myself hidden, not just to keep her safe; but because he was afraid she'd be uncomfortable around him if she knew the truth.

"It looks good on you," he says startling me from my runaway thoughts.

I frown. Clearly, I've missed something. What looks good on me? I almost ask him when I notice he's staring down at my hand; my left hand, which is no longer ringless.

I smile; where a traditional diamond is supposed to sit on top of a gold band, there's a ruby about the size of a jelly bean; and I'm sure my band is made out of lead. I now have on my finger a constant reminder of the events leading up to our wedding.

"I love it," I grin.

"I love you too," he answers; then frowns. "You tricked me into saying it first," he accuses.

I laugh at him. I won't deny it; I wasn't going to say it until he did. Obviously, he was waiting on me as well.

"Say it back," he commands.

I start to, but decide to have fun first.

"Say what?" I ask sweetly.

"Chloe," he warns.

I stare at his lips with a mischievous grin on mine, and lean in close to him.

"You have to make me _want_ to say it," I challenge.

Clark grins back at me and captures my lips with his. He's always like a good challenge.

~~{(O)(O)(O)(O)(O)(O)}~~

**A/N: **Next post will be Monday June 21st


	4. Chapter 4

"You want to hear something funny?"

"No, I want to sleep," I mumble against my husband's chest.

He chuckles softly and drops a kiss onto my shoulder. I don't think anything of it when his hand glides down the side of my body and stops at my hip. I've gotten used to him caressing and touching me throughout night.

"This is really all _your_ fault," he says.

And now I'm awake.

"How?" I ask tilting my face slightly to look at him.

"When Maddie dropped the red K into my hand, all I could think about was getting out of Smallville and traveling around the world. I dropped by the dorm so that I could take you with me, but"-

"And what if I didn't want to go?" I interrupt.

Clark raises an eyebrow at me and grins. "I wasn't going to give you a choice."

"You were going to _kidnap _me?"

"No. Kal was."

I roll my eyes at him. "I still don't see how this is _my _fault."

"I was getting to that," he smiles and unconsciously slides his hand down to my rear. At least, I think it's unconscious anyway.

"When I sped into your room, some of your papers went flying and you caught most of them without even looking; which was a complete turn on,nd then," I watch a big smile appear on his face as he gives my bottom a squeeze. "You bent down to pick up the ones you missed," he adds dreamily.

I wait for him to continue, but that seems to be it.

"And?" I inquire.

He stares at me as if he'd just asked me a question about Michael Jordan and my reply was 'I don't watch football'.

"What did you think would happen when you bent down like that in front of Kal?"

"I didn't _know _you were Kal."

"You shouldn't bend over like that in front of _any_ man without expecting him to uh…_admire _you….. Did you always do that around other guys?

"I spent most of my time with you Clark;" I roll my eyes. "I was hardly ever around guys."

"I'm a guy," He frowns.

"Yeah, but you're…_Clark._"

"What's that supposed to mean?"

Now it's my turn to look at him as if he just said something unbelievably dumb.

"Tell me, how many times have you checked out my ass, and don't count the times you were infected."

He closes his eyes.

"That's what I thought. I bet you can't even count on"-

"3,211," he answers.

My jaw drops. He has to be lying.

"You don't believe me?"

I don't have to answer; because Lois chooses that moment to pound on the door.

"She needs money," I tell Clark.

"For?"

"Coffee."

He frowns; making it clear to me he thinks Lois should pay for her own coffee.

"3,212," he grins as he peaks underneath the blanket before getting up to answer the door.

"Mornin' Houston. We have a problem."

I frown. That's definitely not Lois.

"Mornin' beautiful."

"Uh, mornin' Bart," I say while pulling the sheet up to my chin and thanking God he doesn't have x-ray vision.

Clark steps a little to the left, completely blocking me from view. And though I can't see my husband's face, I know he's glaring down at the young.

"Emergency meeting," Bart says completely unfazed by Clark. "The whole team has to be there."

"Now?" Clark glances back at me.

"That's why Oliver sent me."

"He could've called."

"Dude, I'm faster than a telephone call," Bart boasts; but not without reason

"Fine; just give me a second," Clark relents and is fully dressed no later than well, a second later.

"Hold on there Clark; watchtower has to be there too."

"_Watchtower _is pregnant. She needs rest," Clark says through clenched teeth.

"No way!" I shout. "I'm coming with you."

"Chloe!"

"Don't let me have Bart speed me over there. You know he's faster than you; and you know he'd like nothing more than a reason to put his hands on me," I threaten.

"You wouldn't."

"Please say you would," Bart pleads.

Clark looks as if he wants to take his chances and call my bluff; but I'm not going to let him entertain the thought.

"Bart, I need to get dressed. _Fast_."

"Yes _ma'am,_" the boy grins.

"Okay!" Clark shouts stepping between me and Bart.

I laugh; inwardly of course. Boy do I love to win.

"Get out," he tells Bart.

"You don't have to yell man."

Clark doesn't respond; not verbally anyway. He just shuts the door in Bart's face.

"I thought I was going to dress you," Clark says when he turns around and spots me putting on a shirt.

"I can dress myself," I snort.

"You were going to let Bart do it."

"Jealous?" I smirk.

"No."

"Yeah you are," I walk past him and open the door.

"Took you long enough. Maybe you should've let me dress her," Bart says to Clark before offering me a wink.

"Ready?" Clark ignores him before picking me up.

Literally.

"What are you doing? Put me down," I panic.

"How else are you going to get there?"

Then it hits me. We aren't going to _drive_.

"On second thought, I don't think I should go to this meeting," I say while squirming so that it's more than obvious I want to get down. "You two should hurry. The team's waiting on you."

"You _don't _want to go?"

I give him a negative shake of my head.

"Why?" he asks suspiciously.

I shrug.

"What's the problem? You didn't want me to go to begin with," I answer while completely sidestepping the question. I can't tell him superspeed makes me even more nauseous than it did before now that I'm pregnant. Then he'll worry about me getting sick while he's gone and turn into his worrying, overprotective, smothering self.

"That was when you _wanted_ to go."

"Dude, that made no sense," Bart butts in.

I lean in to kiss Clark goodbye; he dodges it.

"What are you going to do while I'm gone?" He asks.

"Wait for you to come back," I answer before leaning in again for a kiss.

He dodges me _again_.

"And what else?"

"Probably talk to Lana."

He narrows his eyes at me, not liking the sound of that at all. It was the two of us who conspired to keep such a huge secret from him after all.

"Talk to Lana about what?" He asks slowly.

"Nothing. Clark!" I cry when he eludes one of my kisses yet again.

"You can kiss me," Bart says and I seriously consider it; if only to irritate Clark as much as he's irking me at the moment.

"Don't even think about it," Clark growls.

"What about a small one on my cheek?"

"No."

I jump when Bart suddenly appears beside me and plants a loud kiss on my cheek before disappearing.

"I'm going to kill him," Clark mutters.

I can't help but to laugh. "You should've kissed me when you had the chance."

He smiles down at me. "I still have the chance."

"Uh-uh, I don't want to kiss you anymore," I brace my palms against his chest and push him away from me. He places his hands against mine, and holds them there against his chest.

"Yes you do," he smiles.

I totally do.

"Clark man, you comin' or what?" Bart impatiently asks after speeding back to us.

I grin and place a quick kiss on Clark's lips before he can disappear. "Hurry and come back okay."

He kisses my forehead and disappears.

~{(O)(O)(O)}~

I quickly realize I should've gone with Clark, as I'm bored out of my mind. I tried calling Lana, but she didn't answer; which was actually kinda weird but I brushed it off. Lana's fine. If she wasn't, I'd know the same way she always about me. Right?

I go downstairs. It will be my fifth time snacking today; but I really don't have anything else to do.

I bury myself into the refrigerator and frown when nothing appealing jumps out at me.

"I'm here to see Clark."

I practically jump out of my skin as I whirl around to face the familiar voice.

"Lex, what are you doing here?"

He cocks his head to the side.

"He's not here; is he?" he assumes correctly and takes a few steps toward me.

I take a few steps backward. Something isn't right. Lex usually gives me the creeps; but _this _Lex is just downright scary.

"There's _no one _here with you; is there?" He shakes his head and smiles. "He shouldn't leave you alone. It's not safe for you."

I freeze. That definitely sounded like a threat.

'_Move Sullivan,' _I tell myself.

But I can't. I open my mouth to yell for Clark but…

"You should call him."

I clamp my mouth shut. He _wants _me to call Clark.

I shake my head. I won't do it. I refuse to be used as bait.

Before I even realize what's happening, his fingers are wrapped around my throat and my feet are off the ground.

"Call him."

"Go to hell," I claw at his hand, trying to get him to release me.

"Call. Him," He squeezes a little tighter.

I try to shake my head, but I can't. His grip is too tight.

"No," I whimper as tears begin to run down my face. I just know I'm going to die.

Then he drops me; and everything goes dark.

~~{(O)(O)(O)(O)(O)(O)}~~

**A/N: **Next post will be Friday June 25th


	5. Chapter 5

**Madlenita: **Thank you! I do love a good cliff hanger.

**The fallen sky: **You always leave the most encouraging comments; and you're a pretty good guesser when it comes to my fics. I can't believe you called me evil. *pouts* I was just trying to make the story interesting. Gotta love Bart; he's one of my favorites on Smallville. Thank you!

**Jeremy Shane: **Thank you for reviewing.

**Ds: **Thank you for reviewing. I'm glad you like it so far.

**Harlequin Jade: **He's just sneaky like that. By the way, I love your name.

**Lovethechruce: **maybe. Maybe not. Lol.

**Dispatcher652: **I agree, poor Chloe. I seem to be putting her through hell in my fics.

**H: **um….I _think_ that was a compliment. Maybe; but I can't tell if you're really pissed off at me still. And technically it's twice a week, except for when I post on Wednesdays. Then it's only once a week;) but thank you for your review. It made me laugh; even if that wasn't your intention.

**Shonnia22: **Welcome back! I love reading your reviews. You always have a million questions for me; and luck for you, I've answered them in this chapter.

~~{(O)(O)(O)(O)(O)(O)}~~

I come to because I'm cold. Freezing in fact; and all I want is to go back to sleep. I try to mumble the word cold. That way Clark can throw a blanket over me; but I don't make a sound. I try again and wince as the effort is truly painful.

"Chloe?"

'_Lana?'_

Clark, Lana, what the hell. I don't care _who _covers me as long as I get warm.

"What do you want from us?"

"Your fiancé miraculously awakes from a coma and you act as if you're not happy to see me?"

I awake suddenly and fully at the sound of a Lex's voice; but my body seems to take ten times longer to catch up. My eyes open slowly, leisurely fluttering open and shut until they adjust to my unbearably bright surroundings; every joint in my body is stiff and aching due to the cold; and every effort I make to swallow evokes a soundless whimper from me. I'm in so much pain it actually takes me awhile to figure out that I'm in the fortress; not at the farm with the A.C. turned up too high.

"You're not Lex," Lana says while hooking an arm underneath my shoulder and helping me into a sitting position.

"I'm_ not?" _'Lex' patronizes. "Then who am I?"

Lana scoots closer to me, and I appreciate it immensely. Not only am I in need of comfort because I'm positive death is just looming over the horizon, but her body heat is helping the shivers to subside. I've been shaking so hard they've escalated into very painful quakes.

"More like _what _are you," she mutters.

He briefly regards her with a slight tilt of his head before squatting down before us.

"_What_ indeed."

And then he smiles. I watch in horror as those lips begin to transform into yet a different set of lips. Familiar ones.

'_Milton Fine?'_

We're definitely going to die. The last time I saw Fine, he was trying to use Clark to open some kind of portal to a place called the phantom zone for Zod, a Kryptonian who was exiled there. Needless to say, he failed. I got to Clark just in time to remove a piece of kryptonite from his chest, and they battled it out. In the end, Clark walked away victorious and Fine was destroyed; or so we thought.

I start trembling again. If he's trying to release Zod again, there's no doubt in my mind that he may succeed this time. Fine is actually Braniac; a complex computer made by kryptonians. He's always evolving, always learning from his mistakes as well as others'; in layman's term, the bastard just keeps getting smarter.

"What do you want from us?" Lana repeats.

"It's simple really," he looks her straight in the eyes and says, "knowledge."

"Knowledge?" she scoffs. "You're going to kill us because you want _knowledge_?"

My hand flies over and I squeeze whatever part of her anatomy it reaches first. I need her to be quiet. Fine isn't human. He's not even a homicidal sociopath. He's a machine; which means it wouldn't bother him or thrill him in the least to shut her up himself. It would just be a means to an end.

He notices the nonverbal exchange between us and turns his head slightly to stare at me.

"Your vocal cords are damaged," he observes mechanically. "Humans are so fragile. To think that I can cause such an injury just by …"

Gently he presses his fingertips against my neck, allowing his actions to speak louder than words.

"Keep your hands off of her," Lana smacks his hand away from me.

He smacks her across the face. Hard. Neither of us saw it coming. There was no flash of anger; no sign of annoyance; no…nothing.

"Do unto others…" He sighs while quoting the golden rule. "Is that not a human law?"

I stare at him; by that way of thinking we shouldn't even be here. I don't remember ever kidnapping or trying to strangle him.

I turn my back on him and begin shaking Lana's shoulders. I'd give anything to be able to call out to her. I _need _her to wake up. I mean, I know there's nothing she can do by means of keeping me safe; but, I don't want to be alone with him.

I glance back at him. He's smiling, perfectly content with watching my vain efforts to rouse my friend. I glare back at him, wanting him to see that I'm not afraid of him; even if it is total and complete B.S.

Finally, Lana begins to stir and I smile down at her when she opens her eyes. She doesn't return the favor. I can see her eyes widen when she catches a glimpse of Fine watching the two of us; then she sits up immediately.

It doesn't seem to faze him when she starts scooting back as begins to approach us.

"I need _you_ to call Kal-el now; she can't do it," He tells her and winks my way.

I shake my head vigorously and repeatedly pat her leg with the heel of my palm. She'd have to be a complete moron not to know what I'm trying to say.

It's a good thing she's not.

"Why should I?" I can hear a slight tremor and multiple notes of panic in her voice. If I could speak, I don't even know if my voice would be _that _strong. "You're just going to kill us all when he gets here," She finishes.

"There's no need for you to die; or her," he turns and looks at me. "Just Kal-el."

"Why? Why just Clark?" she asks bravely.

He looks as if he's not going to answer. It's more than obvious he feels he doesn't owe us mere humans anything, not even a bit of information.

"Do you think Kal-el will sit back idly and watch as I release Zod and rid this planet of the likes of you? No, I need him out of my way. He has to be eliminated"-

"Clark will stop you." Lana interrupts.

"Kal-el is weak," he scoffs. "These emotional ties he has to you humans is a disgrace; but very beneficial," he smiles at the both of us. "He's so predictable; once he sees I have his two favorite humans, he'll do anything I ask. Including give up his life.

Lana's speechless for all of two seconds, "Why…why…what do you plan on doing with this planet after…

I can answer that for her; but I won't. Not just because my voice is shot, but because I wouldn't be able to say it out loud anyway. Just hearing it in my head is bad enough.

"I will recreate krypton, here on earth and"-

"And how are you going to do that with just this _Zod _person?" Lana interrupts

"I thought that would be obvious," he says while placing a hand on each of our stomachs.

We both gap at him, our jaws dropped down to our knees. I think I'm going to be sick. This _thing _wants to use my babies as…as…

I can't even complete the thought; but I know that there's no way in hell I'll let that happen. I'd rather we all died right here and now. And with that thought pulsing through every fiber of my being, I snatch his hand away from my stomach. I don't care if he's going to slap me the way he did Lana just minutes before. Let him do anything he wants to me.

I look him straight in the eyes as I think this, hoping he'll be able to pick up on my thoughts.

He smiles at me. I'm getting tired of him doing that. Slowly, deliberately, he reaches his hand out toward me. I don't move; and his smile widens. I get the feeling he's enjoying my display of defiance.

When he wraps his fingers around my neck, I frown. He's not applying any pressure at all. In fact, he's barely touching me. Then he turns his head slightly so that he's now facing Lana.

"Call Kal-el."

I watch Lana out of the corner of my eye trace the word no onto her lap.

"No," she says shakily.

His grip tightens; and in turn I squeeze Lana's knee.

"Call him."

She closes her eyes and shakes her head.

When his grip tightens this time, I begin to lose consciousness for the second time in one day. My hold on Lana's leg slackens completely and my hand slides down onto the ground.

"Stop it! You're killing her!" she yells. I can feel her trying to pry his fingers away; but it only makes him squeeze tighter. "I thought you said you need the babies, if she dies, so does the child!"

"I would like to have them both; but I only _need _one," he answers impassively.

"Okay!" Lana chokes. "Okay! I'll do it. Just let her go!"

"You're in no position to give orders."

"Clark!" she yells. "Clark, helps us!"

As promised, he lets go of me when I hear an all too familiar 'whoosh'; and my favorite voice in the whole world calls my name. I slump against Lana and keep my eyes closed.

I can't watch.

~~{(O)(O)(O)(O)(O)(O)}~~

**A/N: **Next post will be Tuesday, June 29th


	6. Chapter 6

**Shonnia22: **Thank you for the review! Yeah, Lana knows she's carrying Clark's child. I think.

**Madlenita: **Thank you. I figured you guys might like that.

**The fallen sky:** lol. Don't worry about it, I kinda figured you were joking; and if you weren't, you left enough compliments in your review for me not to get upset over it. Thank you for that by the way. You always manage to make my head swell just a little more with every review. I'm surprised you can't see it from wherever you are. Lol.

**Jeremy Shane: **thank you!

**Harlequin Jade: **thanks for the review, and I'm glad I was able to answer your questions with that chapter.

**Dizzy78: **Welcome back to you too! I'm glad you're liking this, and I hope you enjoy this chapter as well.

**Lovethechruce and dispatcher652: **it's funny, you two left me practically the same message. You can't wait for Tuesday.( Yay for you! Not so much for me cause I haven't slept yet cause I really want to update on my posted dates. I hope you're happy with it.) and you want Clark to kick braniac's ass. But I can't tell you much about that. ;) Enjoy!

~~{(O)(O)(O)(O)(O)(O)}~~

"Chloe! Lana!"

When I feel Clark's hand on the side of my face, my eyes fly open and widen in alarm. What the hell is he thinking; turning his back on Milton Fine!

I give his shoulder two swift pats, not wanting to waste any more time than he already has and point behind him. But he doesn't look. Instead, he's looking at me with the most concerned expression on his face.

"Chloe?" He whispers and leans in closer to me. He's somehow managed to ask me why I'm not talking just by saying my name; and when I don't give him an answer, he searches for one himself. It doesn't take him long to find it and I feel, rather than see him slowly slide his fingers down my cheek and rest them gently on my neck. I'm too busy watching Fine watch us.

'_Why isn't he doing anything?'_

Then he smiles at me, and I shiver. Not good. I slap Clark's hand away and pat his shoulders a little more urgently this time before pointing behind him again. Twice Fine has wrapped his fingers around my neck and squeezed the life out of me; almost literally. And I'm sure there's some heavy bruising there; but _my God_ this isn't the time for Clark to be concerned about me.

"Clark, look behind you," Lana whispers what I cannot. I doubt she was actually _trying_ to be my translator, but I'm grateful all the same.

Reluctantly, he does what she says.

"Kal-el," Fine drawls out slowly once he has Clark's attention. "I knew you'd come."

Quickly, Clark stands and turns to face the man who isn't a man.

"Let them go," he says steely.

Fine shows no sign of fear as he leisurely takes a step toward Clark.

"I will. But first, you have to do something for me."

Clark doesn't respond; he's waiting to hear Fine's request.

"First, you will release Zod. I've already chosen a vessel," he glances to his left. I

follow Fine's gaze and frown when I see an unconscious Lex Luther not even twenty feet away.

'_Again? He wants to try to use Lex again?'_

I don't exactly know why I'm bothered or surprised by the news. Why _not_ Lex? He was pretty evil without being possessed by a mentally disturbed kryptonian; and whereas any other human might try to fight against the invasion of their mind and body, I think Lex might just enjoy it.

"And then you _will _die," Fine finishes as if he's just asked to borrow a cup of sugar.

Clark rushes at him, grabbing him by his collar and lifting him off the ground; and then Clark falls down to his knees.

"ah ah ah," Fine tsks. "Do you _ever _learn Kal-el?" he asks while pulling a piece of kryptonite out into view.

Beside me, Lana begins to tremble. She knows all too well the painful affects kryptonite has on a kryptonian. I don't; and I sure as hell don't want to find out either; but I have a feeling I'm about to.

"I'm not going to help you destroy this planet," Clark declares in between pants while glaring up at Fine defiantly.

Fine tilts his head to the side. "Nothing I do to _you _will change your mind," he states more as an observation than a question.

Clark shakes his head determinedly, ready to take on any pain the computer might inflict upon him. It's not such a good idea; and even in his weakened state, Clark realizes it when Fine looks away from him and locks his eyes with mine.

"Very well then," the computer shrugs.

"No. Don't," Clark grunts.

"You leave me no choice Kal-el."

I watch in absolute horror as Fine tosses the rock…in my direction. Unconsciously, I make a split second decision not to cry out when it lands. I've forgotten about the fact that I'm unable to make a sound anyway. I just know for a fact that whenever I'm in pain, it hurts Clark. Maybe not physically, but I don't like to see him hurt in any shape or form.

Lana lets out a scream and slumps over to the side; and because I was leaning against her so heavily, I fall over as well. I stop breathing and blink back a couple of tears. The rock has landed not too far away from me. In fact, I can reach out and grab it if I want to; and not just because it's so close either. I don't feel a thing. The kryptonite isn't affecting me. I should be happy; but rejoicing is the furthest thing from my mind. Does that mean…what if…I mentally shake my head. My baby's fine. I'd know if he wasn't I tell myself more than once and try to concentrate on how I can use this to my advantage, and get us out of here alive; _all _of us.

"Chloe! Lana!"

I watch as Clark rushes over to us before dropping down on his knees a few feet away. The kryptonite might have slowed him down, but his determination to get to us hasn't waned in the least. On his hands and knees, he begins to crawl toward us.

I watch as every inch he takes gets harder to gain; and as every breath he breathes gets harder to take. I can see his arms begin to shake and his ability to keep himself upright becomes nearly impossible. I want to tell him to stop, but I keep completely still. Now wouldn't be the best time to let everyone know I'm unaffected by the green rock; especially because fine is staring at us with a smug but triumphant look on his face.

Clark is making this too easy for him.

I clench my teeth together. As much as I hate to show Clark that I'm in any amount of pain; I realize I don't have a choice. Not if I don't want anyone to know that I'm completely fine. I just hope that I'll be able to recognize opportunity if, no, _when _it presents itself to me; and then I'll take it by force if necessary.

Warily, I watch as Fine walks up to Clark and stands beside him. Clark ignores his presence and keeps his eyes on me. They haven't left my face since Fine tossed the rock my way. And when the computer puts what can be mistaken as a comforting hand on Clark's shoulder, I nearly flinch. I can see Clark make an effort to shrug his hand away, but his attempt has no effect on the machine.

"Kal-el," Fine whispers loudly as he squats down beside Clark. "You're children are _dying _Kal-el."

I close my eyes. I can't watch this part. There's no doubt in my mind Clark will give in now.

"I'll do it," he whispers. He barely gets the words out of his mouth before Fine roughly pulls him up by his collar and practically drags him away; away from the kryptonite, and away from me. Silently, he hands Clark the black crystal that will open the portal for Zod; his actions clearly saying 'you know what to do'.

As silently as I dare, I reach into my back pocket and pull out my phone. More than likely I won't get a signal here in the fortress; but that doesn't stop me from trying.

It doesn't work. I begin to panic slightly; we're running out of time. Clark has just thrust the crystal into the console and is now trying to get to me and Lana again. Fine turns around and looks at him briefly before turning his back to us once again. If he were human, he might have rolled his eyes and shaken his head at Clark's stupidity.

As it were, this works perfectly for me. I grab the rock and throw it as far away from us as possible. Clark doesn't even hesitate before rushing over to us and lifting us both.

Before I can even blink, we're at the Farm. I think it's the fastest he's ever run. He lays Lana down on our bed and tells her to rest. She closes her eyes immediately. He doesn't have to tell her twice. Then he pulls me outside of the bedroom, and I know it's so that he can tell me he's leaving; that he has to go back to the fortress.

I don't want him to, and I can't even dredge up the smallest amount of guilt for thinking about something so selfish. The whole planet is in danger, and all I can think about is not wanting Clark to get hurt or d-…leave me.

He bends down and kisses me. Instinctively I realize he's saying goodbye and pull away from him. 'I don't want to say goodbye' is the only thought circulating through my brain as I grab onto his shirt and hold on tightly. I'd rather he take me back to the fortress with him; and if he…_ goes_, I want to go too.

"Take care of him for me, just until I come back," he whispers against my ear while simultaneously resting his hand on my stomach. "Can you do that?"

A tear creeps up on me and slowly makes his way down my cheek.

My baby. I have to take care of my son.

"Chloe?"

He looks me straight in the eyes and as much as it's hurting me to look at him, I can't look away. I nod my head and slowly let go of him. It's the hardest thing I've ever had to do.

He smiles at me, proud of his 'good little trooper'; but this time I can't smile back, and more silent tears begin to fall down my face.

"I love you," he whispers while trying to rid my face of those damn tears, first with his thumbs, then with small kisses; but they just keep coming.

I don't think they'll ever stop.

He freezes for a second; and I can tell he's heard something and really has to go, now. Zod is probably here now. He's going to go face him _and _Brainiac. By himself. I have a lot of faith in Clark; but I honestly don't know if he'll be able to take on them.

He looks at me longingly and when he kisses me goodbye this time, I kiss him back; letting him know just how much I love him because I can't say it.

He bends down and kisses my stomach, _his baby_ goodbye as well, before disappearing into thin air.

I place a hand over my stomach and try to be strong, for my baby's sake at least; but I can't. Painful sobs begin to make my whole body tremble, and I lean my back heavily against the wall before slowly sliding down onto the floor and burying my face in my hands.

~~{(O)(O)(O)(O)(O)(O)}~~

**A/N: **Next post will be Saturday, July 3rd .


	7. Chapter 7

**Jeremy Shane: **thank you!

**Shonnia22: **I know, I thought that chapter was pretty sad too. And Clark's kissing her goodbye just in case he doesn't come back. He's probably a little afraid of facing both Braniac and Zod.

**The fallen sky: **nah, that wasn't a balloon. It was definitely my head. Lol. Thank you! And again with all the compliments, I'm positively glowing here. Thanks again. And I hope you enjoy this chapter.

**Dispatcher652: **agreed, any help is definitely better than no help. Hope you enjoy this chapter.

**Lovethechruce: **I love Chloe, she's always saving the day. But I can't exactly answer your other question. Sorry. Lol.

**Dizzy78: **thank you for reviewing. I really want to answer you but, I can't. I like keeping secrets and information to myself; that is, until it's time to let everyone else in on what I know. Lol. I bet I sounded really creepy just then.

**Madlenita: **I'm glad I was able to make you happy. And thank you for reviewing.

~{(O)(O)(O)(O)(O)(O)}~~

I haven't moved since Clark left. Not even a little. My knees are drawn to my chest, my arms are wrapped around my knees, and my forehead is resting on my knees.

That's how Lois finds me when she gets home.

"Chloe?"

I don't look up. I love my cousin very much; but hers is not the voice I want to hear.

"Chloe, what the hell happened?" she asks while squatting down before me and resting her hands on either side of my legs. "How long have you been sitting here like this?"

I place my hands over hers and remove them. Gently, I set them on the floor so that I don't hurt her feelings. I really just need some time alone. Well, _more _time alone considering I've been sitting here for nearly three hours.

I feel the door behind me give, and it takes me a moment to realize that the house isn't crumbling down around me; Lana's just opened the door. I get up quickly and nearly fall; my legs aren't exactly cooperating with me since I've neglected to use them for some time. But I feel Lana's hand against my back and she rights me before I do. I face her and give her a brief look; it says 'thank you' I think.

Lois lets out a gasp as I hurry into my bedroom before shutting the door and locking it.

I'd forgotten to hide my neck from her. Or I just don't give a damn. I'm not sure which one it is.

I jump a little when Lois begins banging on the door.

"Chloe Ann Sullivan! You open this door right now!"

I ignore her, crawl into bed, and pull the blanket over my head.

She keeps banging; and for a split second. I wonder just how long she can go before she calls it quits. Then I close my eyes. The noise isn't bothering me. I can sleep through pretty much anything at this point.

Two minutes pass before Lois jimmies the lock. To be honest, I'm surprised it's taken her this long; but I was really hoping she'd respect my privacy.

I ignore her completely when she calls my name. She ignores the fact that I'm ignoring her and sits down on the bed beside me. The sudden impression she makes in my bed causes me to roll toward her slightly, and she places a hand on my hip to still me. I don't want to be angry with her; but I'm starting to believe I won't be able to help it if she doesn't leave soon. Why can't she take the hint and leave me alone?

"Chloe," she sighs and pulls the blanket down so that she can look at me. I pull it back up before it even grazes my eyebrows. She lets out another sigh, a louder one, before snatching the blanket off of my face and away from me completely.

I turn over and face the wall.

She leans over me, resting most of her bodyweight against my side. I'm trapped; she's not going anywhere; and it's the only reason I open my eyes.

Her face is maybe six or seven inches away from my own. I just glare at her wondering what I did to deserve such a pushy relative.

"Talk to me cuz."

She tries to look me in the eye as she makes the request, but hers slide down to my neck. Pretty soon her fingers follow and she touches the bruise softly.

I brush her fingers away.

"Who did that?" she asks.

I don't give her an answer, and I can tell her patience with my lack of responses is beginning to wane. Good. Maybe she'll leave.

"Where's Clark?"

'_Clark.'_

I don't know where Clark is. I don't even know if he's…I can feel my eyes begin to water and I blink the tears back rapidly. I thought my eyes were empty now. I thought I'd cried every tear my body could hold. Why hasn't he come home yet?

"Did Clark do this?"

I sit up abruptly; and she nearly falls out of the bed. Just like that, my tears are gone and I'm so angry I could easily mark her throat in the same fashion mine had been marked. I don't give her a chance to even jump in surprise before I'm pointing at the door. I want her out. Now!

"Jesus, what the hell did you expect me to think?" she waves her arms around dramatically as she speaks. "I come home to find you sitting outside of your bedroom, crying; then Lana comes out and"-

'Get out!' I mouth.

She just stares at me as if she's trying to figure something out; and then I see it click into place.

"You _can't _speak, can you?"

Without waiting for an answer from me, she grabs my arm and begins to pull me out of the bed. I resist with all of my might. I'm not going to the hospital.

"Chloe, I don't know what happened to you," she grunts; "but you need to get yourself checked out. At least check and see if the baby's okay."

Angrily, I snatch away from her. Everyone keeps using my baby to get what they want from me. 'Chloe ask Clark to save my son. What would you do if it was your son?' 'Chloe eat your food, the baby needs to eat too.' 'Chloe you can't go with me because you have to stay home and protect the baby while I go take on Zod and Braniac singlehandedly' and now 'Chloe go to the hospital because you have a bruise on your neck, and it _migh__t_ have affected the baby.' Well I'm sick of it! My baby is fine.

Fine!

"Chloe!" She gives me the same look she gave me just before she shoved those pills down my throat a lifetime ago. The 'you're _gonna_ do what I say even if I have to force you' look and I break down and cry soundlessly.

I blame the hormones, and the stress, and the anxiety for my meltdown.

"Lois, I think she just needs to rest."

It's difficult, but through my tears I can see Lana walking toward me with what looks like a bowl of soup.

"I'm taking her to the hospital," Lois declares.

Lana ignores her at first and gives me the bowl. I take it gratefully. I'm not exactly hungry but I imagine the hot soup will soothe my parched throat.

"No, you're not," Lana says calmly and hands me a spoon.

My eyebrows shoot up. Lana is usually relatively timid around my cousin, but I guess a near death experience can make anyone brave. Seriously, who is Lois Lane compared to Braniac.

"She's had a very bad day" Lana continues while her back is still facing Lois. "She was kidnapped, nearly strangled to death, twice, and on top of that she's worried sick because Clark went after the guys, but he hasn't come home yet," Lana finishes, successfully managing to render Lois speechless; for about three seconds.

"Why? Why did they take her? And how do you know about all of this?" She asks suspiciously.

"Because I was there," Lana shrugs slightly

"They took_ both_ of you?" Lois asks incredulously; and not without reason. That does sound a bit unlikely.

"They took me first. I am engaged to a Luthor. Chloe was just in the wrong place at the wrong time," Lana lies smoothly.

"Ransom," Lois concludes.

Lana nods her head; and I have to hand it to her. _That _sounds entirely plausible.

"But the baby's fine, and once she gets a little rest, Chloe will be fine too," Lana says as she walks over to the door and opens it, waiting for Lois to follow. At first I don't think my cousin will, but she gives my leg a small pat and my forehead a slightly bigger kiss before leaving.

'Thank you' I mouth once Lois is gone. Lana just nods her head and is gone.

I breathe easier once the door is shut, and I have to resist the urge to lock it. What would be the point? If she wanted to, Lois could just pick the lock again.

So, I concentrate on eating my soup.

There are about three spoonfuls of it left when my phone goes off.

It's a text message from Oliver asking me where Clark is.

'_Oliver!'_

How could I have forgotten about the team? I send him a lengthy message back, telling him in full detail what had just happened and asking, no, _begging _him to hurry and help Clark. Granted, I'm three hours late, but I haven't heard any news hinting at the planet's annihilation. And in this situation no news is good news, right? Maybe they're still fighting.

'_For THREE hours Sullivan?'_

I quickly dismiss the doubtful thought I'd just had and lay down. Maybe by the time I wake up, Clark will be home.

But I can't sleep. I toss and turn for nearly an hour before getting up and grabbing my empty bowl. I might as well toss it into the sink on my way out. I don't exactly know where I'm going to go, but I've decided I can't just sit here in this house and do nothing.

"And where do you think you're going?"

My hand freezes on the doorknob and I turn slightly to see my cousin staring at me with her arms folded across her chest. Damn. She's too close. There's no way I'd be able to outrun her.

I feel the doorknob twist beneath my fingers and I turn back around just as the door opens; a huge smile on my face. But it drops when I see that it's not Clark who's opened the door. It's Oliver; and he's holding Clark's jacket; and there's blood on it.

"I'm so sorry Chloe, we can't find him anywhere."

~~{(O)(O)(O)(O)(O)(O)}~~

**A/N: **Next post will be Wednesday July 7th.

Also, if you're wondering about the Chloe/Lana relationship, let me just say that I'm not a huge Lana fan but Chloe and Lana are best friends; whether I like it or not. I know you guys probably want a little more bashing and a lot less getting along with her, but I can't help it. I never bash, well, harshly. But I really do hope you guys still enjoy the story regardless.


	8. Chapter 8

**Jeremy Shane: **Thank you! I think that's the most you've ever written for me. lol.

**The fallen sky: **awww, don't be sad. Thank you for still liking the story even though it's gotten a little sadder than what you like to read.

**Crazy girl writer: **I'm glad you like the whole series. Wow, I never even thought of it as a series; especially since I was going to stop at 'When Clark Comes Back'. Thank you!

**Shonnia22: **Thank you for reviewing, like alays;)

**Dizzy78: **awww, I wish I could tell you the answer that.

**Dispatcher652: **I know, I'm sorry for the help arriving so late.

**Madlenita: **Thank you for reviewing. On both of my stories. Lol.

~~{(O)(O)(O)(O)(O)(O)}~~

I started sleepwalking the night Clark disappeared.

Every night.

That's twenty three days of pointless, meaningless, mindless, and subconscious driven wanderings around Smallville; or the Kent farm if Lois catches me before I actually get any further.

The first time it happened, Lana was the one who found me. No surprise there.

I was in the cave and she caught up to me just before I inserted the octagonal key into its slot. Apparently, I was on my way to the fortress. I can only imagine what kind of a nightmare it would have been to wake up in that place; especially considering what happened the last time I did.

It only took two more nights of this before Lois started making me see a doctor.

Okay, a shrink.

It's a complete waste of my time and her money. I already know why I'm doing it. I spend nearly all of my waking hours searching for Clark, it's only natural I'd try to find him while I'm asleep as well. Needless to say, the cure for my sleep walking is as simple as finding him.

I open my eyes and turn over; then I roll my eyes when I see the notebook on Clark's pillow.

So much for Dr./patient confidentiality.

The shrink wants me to keep a diary.

I told her I don't feel like it.

She offered me the notebook.

I told her I wasn't going to use it.

She gave it to me anyway.

When I got home, I hid it under the bed. She asked me about it a week later.

I was honest and told her what I did with it.

Apparently, I should have lied.

Fine. I snatch a pen off the dresser and begin writing.

_Fifteen weeks:_

_My back hurts. I have to use the bathroom a lot. I'm beginning to show, so Lois is taking me shopping. Oh, and I'm getting sick of milk, but it's about the only thing I can stomach anymore._

"Chloe, Let's go!"

"I'm coming!" I yell back before snapping the book closed and tossing it carelessly onto the dresser.

I hadn't planned on writing more than that anyway. And although I complied by writing in the book, I still managed to rebel against the 'diary' idea by turning it into more of a documentary about my pregnancy.

When I get downstairs, there's a glass of milk and half a peanut butter sandwich waiting for me. That's right; I can't even enjoy a good PB&J because jelly makes me sick.

For a second, I'm tempted to just skip the monotonous breakfast, but I don't think Mommie Dearest will allow it.

I take a bite of the sandwich and find myself being jealous of Lana for the hundredth time. Why does she get the easy baby? She never got morning sickness. She can eat whatever she wants. –

"Owww!"

I double over and take deep breaths. I bet 'Lana's' baby never kicks her this hard either.

"Chloe?" my cousin calls from across the table.

"Just the baby kicking," I grind out while fighting the tears that threaten to brim over.

"Lemme feel!" Lois exclaims excitedly, and I wish she could 'feel it' the way I'm feeling it so that it would knock that smile off of her face.

"No," I say instead.

"Oh come on. Quit being a party pooper," Lois responds before placing a hand over my stomach anyway.

I nearly smile in relief when nothing happens.

"What, just one kick? Come on little fella. Say hi to Aunt Lois," she croons.

I haven't had an ultrasound yet, but I refer to him as a boy so often, Lois has begun to as well.

She asks 'Little Fella' to kick again.

Still nothing.

Relieved, I begin to finish my breakfast. I barely take a sip before spitting the milk out all over the place, including Lois's face.

"Stop that," I tell him while patting my stomach and laughing as my cousin wipes her at face. Then I gasp and cover my mouth. You can pretty much guess when the last time I laughed was, and an overwhelming sense of guilt settles into every bone in my body. I shouldn't be laughing. It feels…_wrong_.

Lois notices my quick change in attitude, and it's probably the only reason she isn't yelling at me. She's just staring at me, and I tense up because the look she's giving me is full of pity. I halfway expect her to give me the 'it's okay to laugh, it doesn't mean you're betraying him if you do' speech. But she _is _Lois Lane; and I'm reminded of that when she says, "the little guy sure does pack a wallop doesn't he?" before announcing that she's gonna go get cleaned up, and telling me that I should be ready to go by the time she's finished.

I watch her run up the stairs and disappear. Sometimes she can be a bit pushy, and other times, she seems to know when to back off; and I love her for it.

~~{(O)(O)(O)}~~

"Not again," I groan when I realize I'm not in Smallville anymore. Hopefully, I'm still in Kansas though.

I quickly push myself up into a sitting position; this isn't the first time I've opened my eyes only to discover that I'm lying on a busy sidewalk. Granted, this is the first time I've ever done any sleepwalking during the day.

I frown ….and technically I didn't fall asleep first. The last thing I remember is taking a bite of my sandwich and wishing I could eat bacon or eggs or anything besides peanut butter without wanting to hurl.

I look behind me. If I want to get back home, I should figure out where I am.

'_The daily Planet?'_

I gasp when I see the familiar building. I haven't been here since the week I went missing. What the hell am I doing here now? And how did I get here?

I look around a little more and spot my car. I _drove_?

'_Shit.' _

Lois is gonna kill me.

I glance at my watch.

'_Shit!'_

Lois is really going to kill me.

I check my phone.

'_SHIT!'_

Thirty six missed calls. I might as well go pick out a casket for myself. Not even a pretty one. I don't think she'll let me have a pretty one.

I take a deep breath, gathering with it all the courage I can muster up before either calling her back or chickening out.

I don't get a chance to do either.

"Chloe?"

I don't really want to, but I turn around to see Oliver standing behind me. I stand up so I can face him on better terms. We haven't spoken since 'that day'. I wouldn't say I've been avoiding him per se; but it's not like he's tried to contact me either.

"Lois has been looking all over for you; she's been worried sick," he reprimands; a little harshly I think.

"Is this where you've been all this time?" he asks.

Maybe. I don't know.

I give him a noncommittal shrug. The answer to that question is a complete mystery to me as well.

"Come on, let me take you home," he sighs and gently grabs my wrist.

'_Lana.'_

The thought bombards through my thoughts like a bull seeing red. I can't think of anything else other than the fact that I need to get to her. Now! I snatch away from him and practically run to my car. I nearly get hit by two different vehicles as I cross the street, but that doesn't seem to bother me for some reason.

"Chloe!" Oliver panics.

"I'm fine!" I yell back as I open the door and start the engine before I can even get said door to shut behind me.

I take off just as Oliver reaches my door. I just know he was about to open it and pull me out by force if he had to.

I call Lana. Twice. No answer.

I call Grady next. If anyone knows where she is, it would be him.

He answers on the first ring.

"Mrs. Kent."

He always calls me that, and I never take offense. He's one of Lex's guards, one of the more human ones. He means nothing by it. He's just being professionally formal.

"Where's Lana?" I blurt out without preamble.

"Getting dressed."

"Go get her."

"Ms. Lang doesn't liked to be bothered during her private moments."

"Grady, something's _wrong _with her."

"Ms."-

"No! Just open the door and if she's okay tell her there was some kind of bomb threat or- dammit!" I swear when I drop my phone.

I look down for it but what I see makes my head start to spin.

There's so much blood in my lap. How did I not notice before?

I swallow deeply. It's getting harder to breathe and I'm reminded of a kid who falls down and is perfectly fine until someone points out to him that he's bleeding. Now all of a sudden he's crying because it hurts.

I struggle to keep my eyes open as I pull over on the side of the road; and I take deep controlled breaths, fighting hard against losing consciousness for what, the fiftieth time in my life?

"Chloe!"

Vaguely I can hear a tapping on my window and I close my eyes before slumping over to the side. I recognized Oliver's voice.

I'll be in good hands.

~~{(O)(O)(O)(O)(O)(O)}~~

**A/N: **Next post will be Sunday, July 11th.


	9. Chapter 9

**Dispatcher652:** I know, it seems like something bad happens to Chloe every day and It'd help a lot if Clark was around.

**The fallen sky: **I disagree with you. It doesn't _kinda _suck that Clark isn't there. It sucks butt through a dirty straw. You have no idea how badly I wanted to bring him home in that chapter; but I couldn't because I've decided to do one more story after this one. So I guess that's good and bad for you guys, right?

And I'm glad you're feeling better. It makes me feel better. And again with the compliments. I love them, but the make me blush a bit, but I think I love them more. Is it possible to be modest and full of myself at the same time? 'Cause that's usually the way you make me feel. Thanks again!

**Jeremy Shane: **Thanks!

**Dizzy78: **maybe; maybe not;) Thank you for reviewing.

**Madlenita: **Thank you! Glad you're still liking it.

**Anonymous: **Agreed, Oliver, Clark, everybody needs to be there for the girls.

~~{(O)(O)(O)(O)(O)(O)}~~

Lana and I end up sharing the same room. What are the chances of that?

Exactly. None.

I guess a lot of 'Queen influence' as well as the fact that I kept calling out for Lana, and she for me, makes it easy for me to believe they'd stick us together. At least that's what I've been told anyway; that we were calling out for each other while unconscious; but like most people, I don't remember saying anything while I was down for the count.

"Lana," I whisper.

She doesn't answer.

I'm really beginning to hate her; not 'hate' as in the harshest form of the word, just hate her. How is it she can sleep so soundly all the time while I get stuck with the nightmares? We've been here two days and I've had five already.

I gotta get out of here.

I'm in dire need of some shut eye, and I just can't sleep in this place. But no, the doctors want to keep me here for observation 'just a little bit longer'. Who knows how long that means. And then there's Lois; like she'll even let me _think_ about going home until they figure out what's wrong with me.

But there's nothing wrong with me; and nothing's wrong with Lana, which is why we're still here.

According to the many ultrasounds and tests, the babies are perfectly fine; but the doctors are worried about our, well mainly _my_ eating habits, my sleeping habits, or lack thereof, and my 'nightmare headaches'. Which I'm sure I'd have a lot less of if I was home and not here.

I get out of bed; mentally apologizing to Lana for hating her for a second, even though she has no idea that I did. I should really be appreciative for her staying in here with me. The doctors said she could go home the first night and that she just needed to keep her stress levels down, eat right and get enough rest; but she stayed here with me instead.

As quietly as I can, I roll my bed over, joining it with Lana's to make one big bed. Instinctively, I know this is the only way I'm going to get some much needed rest. Once I've climbed in beside her, she automatically grabs my hand. It freaks me out at first because she's still asleep; but almost instantly I begin to relax. I should be a little more weirded out, but I can't help but to smile when my eyelids become heavy and begin to droop.

This is it. I just know I'm going to sleep good.

"Knock Knock"

I keep my eyes closed and frown. I'm not dreaming this; why on earth would I drudge up such a horrible nightmare? Why on earth did I think such a little thing like _finally_ getting some sleep was going to happen for me? _Nothing_ has been going my way lately; why oh why did I believe this would too? And what the hell is _she _doing here anyway?

Granted, I realize shrinks are human beings too and they have personal lives and such; but for some reason, it still never dawned on me that she's _not_ confined to her office; or that she could simply show up here because I've ignored all her calls and messages and texts for me to contact her.

I jump when she pulls a chair up beside me. Loudly. As if she was either _trying_ to wake me up or call my bluff by scaring the crap out of me.

I glare up at her, then at Lana. She's still asleep.

I _really _hate her.

I glare back over at the shrink; but she just smiles back at me and writes something in her notebook.

I really hate that notebook.

"Hello Chloe," she greets me when she's done writing about me.

I clench my teeth together. She has got to be the only person in the whole world that I don't want addressing me by my first name. When she does it, I feel like she's trying to forge some sort of bond or friendship, and I'd rather we keep this relationship as professional as possible.

"I've got something for you," she smiles; and for a brief second I find myself wondering if shrinks are allowed to smile, because mine does it way too much.

She holds a book up for me to see. It's _my _notebook. The one I tossed onto the dresser the day I ended up here. How'd she get that?

'_Duh, Lois.' _I answer myself.

It truly was a dumb question; even if I _had _only asked myself.

She makes a show of opening the book to the middle and frowning at the empty page. Then she slowly begins to flip the pages backwards toward the beginning; while increasingly getting more and more 'shocked' by its empty contents. Finally she makes it to the first page; the only page I've written on, and reads what I've written out loud to me.

I continue to glare at her; I already know what it says.

She hands the book over; giving me the 'I'm disappointed in you' look.

I ignore it and automatically move to grab it with my right hand, but that's the one Lana's still holding and she unconsciously reminds me by squeezing it just a little and refusing to let go. I switch to my left, hoping the shrink didn't notice; but of course she did, and she jots down a quick note in her notebook.

"Is that Lana Lang beside you?"

I don't answer; just stare at her and wait for whatever she has to say next. What exactly is the purpose of asking me a question she already knows the answer to? She knows damn well that's Lana.

I scratch my nose irritably, with my right hand, the one Lana's still holding. Unsurprisingly, she finds that interesting enough to write about and I mentally swear at myself. I can't believe I just did that.

"Would you say Lana is your 'friend'?"

I sigh heavily. Where the hell is she going with this? Of course Lana's my friend. I don't just hold hands with complete strangers.

I hold our entwined hands up for her to see and give her my best 'duh' expression, followed by a roll of my eyes.

She smiles at me. "I see, but as I understand it, the two of you rarely communicate with one another, unless there's some kind of an emergency."

I shift a little, beginning to get a little uncomfortable. What exactly is Lois telling this woman?

"Have you two ever talked about the day your significant others' went missing?"

I guess no answer from me means 'no' because she continues with a, "if you don't want to talk to me about it Chloe that's fine. But you need to talk to _someone_. Why not the woman you shared the experience with. It shouldn't be so difficult because you two have so much in common right now," she finishes with a glance at both of our not so flat bellies.

I roll my eyes at her and turn over so that my back is facing her. I don't want to hear anything else she has to say. She can never understand how very unalike Lana and I are right now. I'm missing my husband, my best friend, and the father of my children. Lana's _free_ of Lex, her psychopath of a fiancé who took one of my children from me and put her inside of Lana's uterus. I can't even to begin to fathom how, but when you have so much money I guess it's easy to pay someone to figure it out.

I can hear her get up; and then the door opens and closes. I'd be happy she's gone if she didn't make me think of something worrisome. She's right about one thing. Lana and I do have to talk; not about our partners; (though I do hope Lex never comes back because this will be a lot easier if he doesn't) but about what we're going to do once the babies _are _born. I know she can't just give me my baby and go home. I'm sure there'll be a lot of legal matters and such. 'Adoption' crosses my mind, but honestly I think there's something seriously wrong with adopting my own kid.

'_And what if Lana doesn't want to give my baby to me?'_

I try to brush the thought away, but it just keeps coming back. I've heard so many stories about women who've arranged for their babies to be adopted; but changed their mind after the child was born because they just couldn't bare the idea of giving their child up after carrying it; and feeling it grow inside them for nine months.

"Chloe?"

It's Lois's voice, but I keep my eyes shut.

"Come on Chloe, you can't pretend you're asleep _every _time I come to see you."

And she literally means _every _time. I haven't seen Lois's face in two days. I just listen to her voice.

The first day she came, I wasn't pretending to be asleep. I was just kind of in and out of it; but I could still hear her. She was just rambling on for minutes or hours; I'm not sure, but she let me know she was worried about me when I didn't answer her calls. And then she softly confessed to thinking I'd committed suicide because I'd been so depressed. It was after that, that I actually began making sure I didn't have to look at or speak to her, by pretending to be asleep.

I don't know what to say to her.

My phone begins to ring; naturally I just let it; and naturally, she answers it for me. It's a very quick conversation and I tune it out before it even began. Which I realize wasn't the best idea because when she says,"Chloe, that was the Daily Planet. You were supposed to start work today."

My eyes spring open; letting Lois know she was right about me pretending to be asleep.

~~{(O)(O)(O)(O)(O)(O)}~~

**A/N: **Next post will be Thursday July 15th.


	10. Chapter 10

**Crazy girl writer: **No problem, and thanks for bringing your concerns to my attention. I tend to forget that just because I know what's going on and what's happening, it doesn't mean you guys do too. I was more than glad to put that in there for you. And I'm glad you're still intrigued by the story.

**Jeremy Shane: **Thanks!

**The fallen sky: **Oh, wow! Thank you! I wasn't so sure about it. I thought the readers would think Chloe's becoming too much of a pessimist; but I honestly believe this is how she would feel with Clark gone, and the baby causing her so much physical pain all the time, and just…I don't know. I thought she'd be cranky. Thank you so much. I don't know what made me do this from Chloe's point of view, but I'm glad you think it's working out alright.

**Shonnia22: **Lol. I don't like the shrink either. She's _too_ nosey.

**Dizzy78: **Wow! I keep forgetting some of you guys have been following this story since "When Clark Comes Back". That's a long time; and you still like everything? Thank you.

**Madlenita: **Yeah, I'm sorry about that; but Chloe's a very sad woman without Clark around.

**DS: **Is it odd that I want the same thing, but I refuse to let myself do it. God, I'm weird. Even my own fics don't go the way I want them to. I just let the characters take over and tell _me_ what to do. Yeah, I'm definitely weird.

~~{(O)(O)(O)(O)(O)(O)}~~

"Why didn't you just tell me you had an interview at The Planet?"

I'm too shocked to answer Lois.

I _didn't _go on an interview.

"I mean, we could've just postponed the shopping trip rather than you sneaking off to metropolis without me," she continues.

She's either ignoring the fact that I'm completely shocked, or she thinks I'm actually interested in what she's saying.

"You're trying to get back into the saddle; live again. I think this could definitely be good for you; you know, financially; and it'll help take your mind off…things," she smiles proudly at me.

I close my eyes and tune her out. You'd think that would stop her from talking.

I obviously don't know my own cousin then.

I let out a heavy sigh before interrupting her.

"Lois."

She doesn't hear me.

I let her go on for a few more seconds with the intention of speaking once she takes a breath; but she doesn't. She's just rambling on about god knows what, but from what little I do catch onto, it's got nothing to do with the original topic.

The Daily Planet.

"I'm not going to work at The Daily Planet," I blurt out.

Her jaw drops, and I don't think she's breathing.

'_That's right Sullivan. If you can't get her to stop talking for a few seconds, just send her into cardiac arrest.'_

"Wh-hat?" she finally manages to stammer. "Why? But you"-

"I didn't go on an interview," I answer truthfully….and stupidly.

She scoffs out a grin, probably thinking I'm pulling her leg.

"They just called you on your personal cell Chloe," she says as if that proves she's right.

I don't give her an answer; and in return she frowns at me. Apparently, she's expecting me to say 'just kidding' and tell her all about it.

I suppose three months ago I would have done it. Three months ago, I would've felt guilty about the look my cousin is giving me and just agreed to do whatever she wanted to get her approval; but I'm not that person anymore. I'm _not_ going to cave on this.

"Oliver said he found you in front of The Planet the day you…_that _day," she tries again.

I just stare at her.

Her frown deepens at my lack of response; and for a second I think she's gonna take me seriously, but then she smiles and I have to take a mental deep breath.

She walks up to me and sits down beside me. There's barely room for her on the bed, so it's more of a 'perch' really.

"Chloe I know you're scared," she reaches over and takes my hand in hers in what I can only interpret as an 'I understand what you're going through' gesture.

I snatch it away from her and instantly regret it. She's looking over at my other hand, still joined with Lana's; and then she blinks rapidly before continuing.

"But you can't back down from this. You'll go crazy just sitting around the house all day waiting for Clark to come home," she finishes.

She's hurt. Really hurt. I can see it in her eyes; and hear it in her voice.

I feel like crap.

"Okay," I relent. "I'll do it."

I hate her too.

She's always making me do things I don't want to do. But then she gives me her brightest smile and I instantly don't hate her anymore. It was worth it. I've always liked her smile; especially when I'm the one who put it on her face.

She leans forward and lays her head on my chest; embracing me into one of the most awkward hugs we've ever shared. I wrap my left hand around her and pat her on the back.

"Uh Chloe, you think maybe you can let go of Lana's hand for a second so this can be a 'me and you' moment; and not a 'me, you, and your girlfriend' moment; because frankly, I'd rather _that _stayed between just the two of you."

I smile, roll my eyes at her, and lift my hand up for her to see.

I'm not holding Lana's hand at all, she's holding onto mine. _I_ let go the moment Lois's feelings got hurt.

She frowns at our hands, then at Lana before trying to pull them apart. Lois is pretty strong, so I imagine she's pretty frustrated when she's unsuccessful.

"Well that's…_weird_. Are you sure she's still alive?" Lois asks; and before I can stop her, she pokes Lana in the arm.

"Lois!" I hiss.

Lana wrinkles her brows a bit, but stays asleep.

Lois moves to poke her again, but I slap at her hand.

"Stop it," I scold her as if she's a small child.

My cousin reluctantly returns her gaze back to me. "You know," she steals one more glance at our hands "You two really freak me out."

There's a soft knock on the door and one of my doctors come in; my favorite one actually. He's pretty young; probably a few years older than me, but I've been reassured by Oliver that he's one of the best, and that he knows what he's doing.

I inhale slowly; praying he'll say I can go home without actually putting much faith into it.

"Mrs. Kent, you're free to go."

"What!" Lois and I yell together. I can't believe what I just heard. Apparently, neither can Lois.

"What do you mean she can go home? You guys didn't even fix her!"

"Ms. Lane, there is nothing to fix. Mrs. Kent's vitals are good, her baby is fine, and all tests came back with a positive result. In short, your cousin is in perfect health."

"But what about the lethal headaches, and the sleepwalking, and…and the nightmares?" she finishes lamely.

The doctor smiles at Lois. "Headaches are actually normal occurrences in a pregnancy. I will admit Mrs. Kent's are more extreme than most, but…" he shrugs his shoulder. "And as far as the nightmares and sleeping walking, I'll attribute that to the trauma she's endured before and after losing her husband; which is not my area of expertise. You might want to consider seeing a psychiatrist."

"She's already seeing a psychiatrist," Lois answers irritably.

"Of course she is," he replies absently while jotting down a small note, ripping it from its pad, and handing it to me.

I smile when I see what's written on it.

"What's that?" She asks and snatches the paper from me before I can answer.

"Her prescription," the doctor answers seriously.

"It says 'at least eight hours of sleep a day,'" Lois growls.

"Yes, and make sure she gets that every night; or she'll end up here again," he says before leaving. Quickly.

I like him. He's got a good sense of humor, _and _common sense.

I get up out of the bed; sort of. Lana's death grip on my hand stops me from getting too far.

"Lana," I groan while tugging my hand. Of course there's no answer. I'm finally able to go home and I can't.

I climb onto Lana's side of the bed and shake her a bit. "Lana!"

She opens her eyes slowly. "What?" She mumbles sleepily.

I frown when she takes her precious time sitting up and stretching and yawning. I yank at my hand a little. I don't care if she wants to stay here; but she should at least have the decency to let me go.

She looks up at me, _finally_, and narrows her eyes.

"You need sleep," she observes.

I roll my eyes. _Duh. _

"Do you want me to come home with you?"

I suck in a deep breath and wait for it.

"You know Lana, I get that the two of you are lonely; but Chloe's taken. And so are you," Lois adds as an afterthought.

Honestly, how could she have _not _thought Lois would respond to that?

"No, I think I'll be fine. Alone," I answer Lana while tugging my hand once again.

She gives me a suite yourself shrug and lets go. Immediately, I feel …_cranky_. I grab her hand, just to make sure of something. Gradually, I begin to feel better. I'm still tired, but I'm not _cranky_. I let go; instantly becoming cranky again.

'_Shit.'_

I ignore the look Lois is giving us and glare at Lana. I can tell she wants to smile; but this isn't funny to me at all. My babies don't like to be separated from each other. Which means I don't like being separated from Lana? And if we're separated for too long, we what, suffer some heavy duty withdrawal symptoms?

This is going to be a long four months.

~~{(O)(O)(O)(O)(O)(O)}~~

**A/N: **Next post will be Monday, July 19th.


	11. Chapter 11

**The fallen sky: **lol. Everything is better with Clark; for Chloe at least. Sorry for the short response, running late. Thank you!

**Crazy girl writer: **lol. Writing Lois's jokes about Chloe and Lana is my favorite part to write.

**Jeremy Shane: **Maybe, maybe not;)

**Dispatcher652: **I could do that; but I think it would just depress her more when she wakes up and he's not there. But if you really want her to dream about Clark I can do it for ya.

**Dizzy78: **uh, would you be mad if he didn't?

**Shonnia22: **no, it's not weird that you're getting used to the Chlana stuff, but that's what I was going for. Lol.

~~{(O)(O)(O)(O)(O)(O)}~~

I'm so lost in my thoughts, I don't even realize we're at the farm until Lois opens the passenger door for me and tells me to get out. Evidently, she's asked me to get up more than once because Lois is never that short with me. Not without reason anyway.

"Were you listening to anything I said?"

How do I say "no" without sounding rude? Because as insensitive as I seem to be toward others right now, I don't want to deliberately hurt her.

I didn't purposely tune her out. I remember her talking; I just don't remember what she said. In fact, I don't even remember getting into the car, or walking out of the hospital for that matter.

It's this Daily Planet thing. It's really bothering me.

The week I went missing, I lost my job there. 'No call, no show' for a week straight? Hell, I'd fire me too.

When I came back, I would've loved to have gone back to work; but it wouldn't have worked; not unless Clark got a job there too because he wouldn't let me out of his sight. And now I get a phone call saying I should've been at work today? When the hell did I even interview for the job? During my daytime sleepwalk obviously; but _why_? Why would I try to work there again? I know for a fact that I wasn't harboring any secret desires to do so; not even subconscious ones. And I know I didn't set up an interview either; so I just what, showed up and asked to speak with the man in charge. What the hell kind of a black out results in me successfully landing a job at the planet by doing it that way? Hell, I'm surprised they even let me walk through those double doors, let alone considered hiring me again.

'_What the hell did I do?'_

I shrug my shoulders and walk into the house. I'll worry about that tomorrow; when I get there; and talk to whoever hired me. For now, sleep.

When I walk into the bedroom, I instantly realize something isn't right. It looks different. I narrow m eyes a bit. Where the hell is all my stuff?

"Lois!" I yell; and when I turn around she's standing right behind me.

She looks a little nervous, and I get the feeling she's been expecting this.

"Where's my stuff?" I ask.

"In your bedroom," she answers while taking a defensive stance; which is good because I'm going to kick her ass.

"Why?" I nearly yell.

I haven't slept in that room since Clark left. In fact, the night Oliver told me he couldn't find him, I moved into the guest room and Lois took the master bedroom. Why the hell would she suddenly think I'd be willing to switch rooms now?

"Carol says"-

"Who the hell is Carol?"

"Chloe!"

"What?"

"You've been seeing her for _weeks _now. You mean to tell me you honestly don't know your psychiatrist's name?"

I frown. Carol? My shrink's name is…_Carol_? The name doesn't suit her at all. It's so…_human_.

"Chloe, tell me you're just joking," Lois pinches the bridge of her nose.

I shrug my shoulder at her. I'm not joking; and quite frankly, I can't believe Lois is surprised. I've only ever referred to the woman as 'the shrink'. And I know the shrink tattles on me, so I'm sure Lois knows I barely speak to the woman. In fact, I hardly even look at her.

"Well I don't give a damn about what the shrink says; just put my stuff back," I yell, purposely forgetting the woman's name. What the hell was she doing here, in my home, in the first place? What gave her the right to touch my stuff, or suggest I do _anything_? What gave her the right to read my damn journal?

I find myself getting angrier and angrier by the second as all those 'what gave her the right's turn into '_who _gave her the right's. And it wasn't me. The shrink is my shrink. She and Lois shouldn't be talking to each other about me. I'm not a minor.

I have rights.

"Chloe, we're just trying to help you get better."

"I'm not _sick,_" I snap back

"No one said you're sick, okay. We just"-

I walk past her and into the bathroom before locking the door. If I hear her say 'we' one more time, I'm going to explode. It's like it's her and the shrink against me. Lois is _my _damn cousin. Not the shrink's.

"Chloe!" she bangs on the door. "Open up now!"

I ignore her and sit on the toilet.

'_Brilliant idea Sullivan. Lock yourself into the bathroom. You have about two and a half minutes before Lois jimmies the lock; and absolutely nowhere to go.'_

"Chloe?" there're several notes of panic in her voice.

Great. She's probably worried because of the fact that there're prescription pills in the cabinet; a razor on the counter; and I'm not answering her.

I take a deep breath and let it out slowly. My life can't get any worse. The only time I ever feel better is when I'm with Lana; and I'm not sure that actually makes me feel better.

I take another deep breath and release it. It's not even the baby connection we're sharing. Lana's the only one who doesn't try to cheer me up; or make me feel better; or fix me. I suppose she's got more important things to worry about than me. And as weird as it may sound, it makes me feel better; like I'm not a burden or a problem that needs solving.

I frown after a few minutes pass. Lois should've been in here by now. I walk over and press my ear to the door. I don't hear anything and it's making me nervous.

Quietly, I open the door.

No sign of her.

She better not be calling the shrink up or I'm going to kill both of them.

I walk past the guest room, my bedroom for the last couple of weeks, and freeze. I thought I saw…

I smile and walk inside. Lois is in there, putting all of my stuff back. Exactly the way she found it; or trying to anyway.

"Happy?" she asks grumpily.

"Yes," I answer honestly.

"Whatever" she mumbles while walking past me. Then she stops just before leaving the room. "I still think it was a good idea."

I give her a small smile. She just wants what's best for me. I know that; but what's best for me is Clark.

She can't give me that.

"I set your alarm clock for tomorrow," she announces before leaving and shutting the door behind herself.

I sigh.

The Daily Planet. I have to be there tomorrow.

~~{(O)(O)(O)(O)(O)(O)}~~

Naturally, my day hasn't been going well. The Planet reeks of coffee, and though I don't violently upchuck at the smell anymore, it's enough to make me nauseous.

Everyone keeps staring at me, and I can only imagine it has something to do with however the hell I got hired. I can't see the man, _woman _who hired me because she's out of town, which means she's probably in the office and just doesn't want to see me.

And to top it all off, I saw Clark; only he wasn't Clark. You can't even imagine how humiliating it was to run up to a complete stranger yelling "Clark!" and practically jumping into his arms.

I apologized repeatedly to the confused man and walked away, hoping I never see his face again; not that I remember what he looks like anyway.

As long as Clark's been gone, I can't believe I didn't make that mistake sooner. Then again, I've been on the farm for the last few weeks, only going out once a week to see the shrink.

"Guess who?" Lois says while coming up behind me and covering my eyes. Apparently, it's not so hard to guess.

"What Lois," I sigh.

"Lunch time," she says brightly, ignoring my somber mood.

She's doing it on purpose and it's annoying as hell.

But what the hell, I'm hungry and ready to get outta here, so why not?

"Okay," I agree before snatching up my purse and leading the way.

"So where are we going," She asks practically jogging to keep up. It could be a funny sight to see, considering Lois's legs are much longer than mine and she should be able to keep up easily.

"To eat," I answer shortly.

"Yes, but where?" she asks and I'm truly impressed by her patience with me. If it were the other way around, I would've snapped much sooner.

"Across the street."

"Ok."

"Thank you for coming to get me Lois," I turn abruptly and give her a smile. It's not a real one, but she appreciates the effort I'm making and gives me a genuine one back.

I turn around and continue walking before she can hug me or something. I feel like that's what she wants to do.

When I enter the diner I see a familiar face and smile. He sees me as well and returns it.

"Mrs. Kent."

"Dr. Loveleigh."

"Uh," my doctor, the one who told me I could go home and prescribed me the eight hours of sleep a day, looks around him. "Do you mind calling me Charlie? Nothing good ever came of people finding out my last name," he jokes; but I imagine he's serious as well.

Kids can be cruel.

"Alright, but only if you call me Chloe," I agree.

It's only fair.

~~{(O)(O)(O)(O)(O)(O)}~~

**A/N: **Sorry about the late post; but it is still the 19th; so I still made it. Lol. Next post will be Friday, July 23rd.


	12. Chapter 12

**The fallen sky: **Wanna hear something funny? When I was reading your review, I was like 'Who the heck is Charlie?' I can't say much without spoiling the story; but I _can_ say that Chloe is friendly toward the doctor because like Lana, he isn't fretting over her the way everyone else is. And I imagine that though she feels better physically when she's around Lana; being near the doctor temporarily takes her mind off of her 'babies and hubby' problem; which I think she needs real bad or she'll crack. So yes, you got the feeling I wanted you to get; but I can't say if it was warranted or not.

Oh, and I'm sorry; but I think you were right when you said I'm evil. I kinda like toying with emotions. I like Chlark angst too, but _only_ if it has a happy ending. Try and remember there's gonna be another story after this one. Plenty of time for a happy Chlark ending. Right? Thank you!

**Madlenita: **You could say that.

**Ds: **I know, the talk is coming; maybe not the next chapter; but definitely before _this_ story ends.

**Jeremy Shane: **Thanks!

**Dispatcher652: **Ok, I'll try and see where I can fit it in.

**Dizzy78: **Thanks! It's coming; maybe next chapter.

~~{(O)(O)(O)(O)(O)(O)}~~

_Week 15:_

_My back still hurts. I'm steadily getting fatter. And I cry all the time now. When I'm sad, which is most of the time anyway; when I'm mad; When I'm happy, or hot; or cold; or hungry; even when I'm asleep. _

_I probably wouldn't cry so much if Clark was here._

I pause and stare at what I just wrote; then I cross out the last line. It was_ too_ personal; and I refuse to make this a diary.

I toss the pen and notebook onto the dresser. There's no point in trying to hide it. Lois will just 'accidentally' find it while cleaning up my already spotless room; or doing my freshly washed laundry; or looking for a pencil because the ones in her room don't work.

"Chloe! You're girlfriend's here!"

I take several deep breathes while simultaneously counting to ten a few times.

It doesn't help.

There's no amount of meditation or breathing exercises that can prepare me for the day ahead. I'm gonna be with Lana and Lois; Lana _and _Lois, the_ whole_ day; and instead of shopping and pedi's like a normal 'girls day out', we're doing ultrasounds and starting Lamaze classes.

'_Yay,'_ I deadpan to myself.

I take my time getting ready. Maybe if I go slow enough I'll miss both of my appointments, (or just one will do) and then we can just stay home all day.

'_Great idea Sullivan; then Lois will just reschedule and you'll end up going anyway.'_

I roll my eyes at no one but myself. Sometimes _I'm _not even on my own side.

"Hello Chloe," Lana says when I finally make it downstairs.

Hello? What's with the formal greeting? Lana's usually a 'hi' or 'hey' person.

"Uh, _hello _Lana."

What? No smile? Lana always smiles at me, no matter how grumpy I am; but instead of smiling at me, she takes out her phone and starts pressing buttons. I get the feeling she's not actually doing anything.

I don't like this. As much as I keep wishing Lana would stop doing things to make Lois tease us, (and it doesn't take much anymore) I've just realized I don't like change. I _need _constants, and patterns, and structure, and routines; even if it _is _my cousin making dirty jokes about me and my husband's ex.

It's kinda like the person whose room is so junky, he can barely open and shut his door. Clean his room for him while he's out one day, and when he comes back he'll complain because he knew where everything was before and now he can't find _anything, _instead of thanking you.

Lois turns a little to pick up her keys and purse; and Lana flashes me a quick grin and small wave before Lois turns back around.

That's much better; we _both_ can't be in a crappy mood.

I smile back at her, but she's looking at her phone again.

"Alright lovebirds, get in the car," Lois calls while shepherding us out of the front door. We both catch each other's eyes and roll them. We're not children.

"I saw that."

"So," I mutter under my breath. We didn't exactly try to hide it. Though making slick replies under my breath is a clear indicator that I'm not as brave as I make myself out to be. Apparently Lana agrees with me because she laughs at me. Granted she never takes her eyes off her phone and she _could _be laughing at whatever's on the screen, but considering she's not really using it; I know she's laughing at me.

"Oh for heaven's sake," Lois exclaims when we both get into the backseat of the car. "I'm not chauffeuring you two around like some kind of soccer mom."

I frown back at her. I don't really see the problem. She treats us like children anyway.

"Chloe come sit up front with me."

'_Hell no.'_

"I can't. The front seat makes me dizzy," I lie. I have to. If I would've given her a flat out 'no' she would have _made _me sit up there. "Maybe Lana can sit up there with you," I offer 'innocently'.

Lana hits my knee with her stupid phone and reflexes cause my leg to jerk forward and hit the back of the seat. I send a glare her way. She ignores it with an amused smile.

"No that's okay. She can stay back there with you," Lois says quickly while getting into the car. I almost wish she'd seen what Lana just did.

I picture Lana in a 'Lois headlock' and laugh a little; but then, that wouldn't work. My baby needs Lana to keep breathing.

I sniff suddenly. Here come the waterworks.

Lois ignores me. She's gotten used to it by now. Lana hands me a non-scented baby wipe and I wipe at my face until the tears and sobbing stop; which is about twenty two seconds later.

Lois takes off once I've stopped crying, but then stops before we even get off the property.

"That's it. Lana, you come sit up front with me; and don't you lie and say you get dizzy in the front seat too. You drove here remember."

Lana frowns at me. I shrug back at her.

"Doesn't Chloe drive too?" Lana asks.

"No," Lois answers for me.

She's not lying. Lois doesn't let me drive anywhere. Not even to work.

At the thought of The Daily Planet, I start the sniffling again and Lana has to hand me another baby wipe.

I _still _don't know how I got the job. Yes I spoke to the woman who hired me, Tess Mercer, but she told me I just came in for a regular interview and she felt I had enough experience based on previous works. She was also lying her ass off; but what do you expect from the new CEO of Luthorcorp. Yeah, Lex bought the Daily Planet before he disappeared. How the hell did I _not _know that?

"I'm serious," Lois's voice interrupts my thoughts. "The two of you holding hands all the time is making me nauseous."

I don't look down to see for myself the way I used to. Although I wasn't aware that Lana and I were holding hands, I'm not surprised by it either.

Lana sighs and lets go of my hand.

Lois smiles and starts driving again.

I glare openly at the both of them.

Not even two minutes later, Lois slams on her breaks.

"Just stop looking back here!" Lana exclaims irritably before Lois can tell us off about the handholding again.

I'm impressed. Lois not so much.

"Why does it bother you so much anyway?" I ask to sort of take the heat off of Lana. Surely that little outburst of hers would only result in her death.

"It's just…_irritating,_" Lois answers.

"But how?"

"I don't know. It's just…creepy."

We roll our eyes at her.

"And so is that!"

"What?" we ask.

"That."

"Oh," we answer.

Lois clenches her teeth together and closes her eyes. I have a feeling she's counting or doing a few 'woosaa' exercises.

She starts driving again.

Not once does she look back at us during the whole ride to the hospital.

~~{(O)(O)(O)}~~

I'm having a boy. Lana's having a girl. I told Lois this was going to be a complete waste of time.

I lead the way down the hospital halls. I'm ready to get outta here.

"So what are you going to name the little fella?" Lois asks me.

"I don't know."

"Well we can't just keep calling him 'little fella'."

"I know."

"And you gotta think of a name for this one too," Lana chimes in absently while playing with her phone again.

"I know," I answer just as absentmindedly.

"Wait," Lois stops us. "Why is Chloe naming that one?" she asks while pointing at Lana's stomach.

"Why _wouldn't_ Chloe name her own baby?" Lana frowns while continuing to stare down at her phone.

~~{(O)(O)(O)(O)(O)(O)}~~

**A/N: **Next post will be Tuesday, July 27th.


	13. Chapter 13

**Jeremy Shane: **thank you!

**The fallen sky: **Aww. I don't want you stewing in anything; but it's nice to know you'd still be willing to read this fic even if something doesn't go the way you like. Thank you!

The funny thing is; Lois's reaction to the Chloe /Lana thing is just my way of showing the readers that I understand the handholding and stuff is 'creepy' as Lois keeps saying; but it is a must. And I don't think Lana 'slipped up' but I can't say more than that. Lol. I keep saying that, don't I? I really hope you're able to enjoy the rest of the story; and the next one.

**Dispatcher652: **Lol. I hope you're satisfied with what happens in this chapter.

**dizzy78:**Lol. That's a definite possibility.

**DS: **No. definitely not trying to kill ya, lol.

**annonymous: **already done, it only makes since;)

~~{(O)(O)(O)(O)(O)(O)}~~

I try to start walking again, but before I even take half a step, my cousin grabs my wrist and yanks me a little closer to her. She's always had good reflexes; but I'm shocked they still work this well while she's in _this_ much shock. Her eyebrows are nearly raised to her hairline, causing serious wrinkles in her forehead; forget her jaw dropping to the floor; it's sunk so far beneath the earth's surface, it's resurfaced on the other side of the planet; and she hasn't blinked. Not once. And yes, there's the very unlikely possibility that we're blinking at the same _exact_ time and that I'm just missing her do it, but the _operative_ word in that sentence had been 'unlikely'.

I gulp audibly. I haven't seen her like this since she found out Clark's the father of my child, children; and even then, she remembered to breathe.

"Uh, h-her own baby?" Lois finally questions with a slight stammer.

Lana finally looks up from her phone and at Lois, then at me.

"You didn't tell her?" she frowns.

I glare back at Lana. What the hell is she doing? She knows damn well I didn't tell Lois.

"Ladies, I know you two are…well, have you know,…but you _do _realize that it's physically impossible for you two to procreate right?" Lois jokes; but she's not so much as joking as asking 'what the hell is going on?'

"I mean, there's no way Chloe's the mother of your child," she finishes before adding, "though it wouldn't be hard to believe Clark is the father," under her breath.

I'm sure Lana heard what Lois just said; but she doesn't seem to be offended by it. In fact, it looks as if she's about to agree with her.

"Lana!" I hiss.

"She should know Chloe!" Lana hisses back.

"I should know what," Lois asks. Her voice wavers a little. She's actually nervous.

"Right here? Right now?" I hold my arms out, indicating that we're still in a very public place. In a hospital hall, in fact; with doctors and echoes and such.

"Then let's go somewhere a little more private," Lois jumps in while steering me out the door, through the parking lot, and to the car. Never once did she turn back to see if Lana was behind us or not. She's in 'oh-my-god-shit's-about-to-hit-the-fan' mode now; and Lana was barely important enough to Lois beforehand.

"Private enough for ya cuz?"

I ignore her and get into the car. Lana follows suite; getting in beside me. Apparently she was able to keep up just fine.

Lois gets in right after us, and I briefly wish I'd thought to lock her out. Not that it would've helped me much in the long run; but I need to talk to Lana; _alone_. I need to figure out where her head's at, and why the hell she's trying to out me to my cousin.

"Well, I'm waiting," Lois turns in her chair; resting both knees on her seat, and her bottom against her steering wheel.

Lana looks over at me and waits for me to explain. Apparently, she doesn't believe it's her place to say anything.

I glare back at her. Personally, I think she should've remembered that in the first place.

"Chloe? Lana? Any day now; either one of you," Lois says as she alternately points from me to Lana.

Lana fishes out a piece of paper from her purse and silently hands it to Lois. Whatever's on it makes her gasp; and _that _me nervous and curious.

"I don't believe this," she says before shaking her head in disbelief and tossing the paper into the back seat as if it has some kind of deadly and contagious disease. "Nuh-uh. No way…I…you honestly expect me to believe this?"

"No, I didn't expect _you _to," Lana answers. "That's for everyone else."

"What the hell's _that _supposed to mean?" Lois frowns back at her.

I grab at the paper. Yes, Lana is holding it; and Yes, I snatch it away from her.

I can understand Lois's reaction now. According to this, Lana is the surrogate mother of me and Clark's child; which is _technically_ true to a certain extent, but more than unbelievable.

First, Clark and I are newlyweds. It's not like we've been trying over and over again for years to have a child on our own and I just found out that I can't carry one.

Second, it costs to have a surrogate. A lot. Like 'Clark and I can't afford it' a lot. And just because Lana's Clark's ex and is still our friend doesn't mean she'll do it for free. In fact, that probably means she wouldn't do it at all.

What people will be more inclined to believe is that there was some kind of love/affair triangle thing going on between Lana, Clark and myself; and that we both ended up pregnant. The only problem with that is, we'd have to figure out a way of explaining to everyone how Lana isn't the mother once the baby is born.

I guess _this_ is it.

I stare down at the paper some more. I know it's phony, but Lana made sure it looked like the real deal; probably with the help of Luthor Senior. I look toward the bottom. There's Lana's signature, a date that claims this piece of paper is the same age as my children, and the signature of the doctor who allegedly performed the operation. I frown when my eyes slide down even further. I know neither Clark nor I signed this thing, but there they are; our signatures; perfectly forged; which I've got to admit is a little unsettling but not all that surprising.

I turn in my seat a little and openly stare daggers at Lana. I can hear Lois breathe a sigh of relieve. She probably thinks that because I'm currently glaring at Lana, none of this is true. And it's not; the truth is much worse; which is why I'm so pissed off at the woman beside me.

At first, I thought her slip about naming the girl was an accident; but now, because she'd bought the forged document with her, I realize she did it on purpose. That she'd planned on trying to get me to tell Lois the truth today.

And if I'm being honest with myself, that's not why I'm so angry at her right now. I'm just…shocked. She caught me _completely _by surprise. Never once has she mentioned to me that she thought Lois should know. Never once has she even _hinted _that she was even interested in what I do or don't talk to my cousin about when the two of us are separated; and now she's sitting there demanding I tell Lois the truth?

I can't do that; and frankly, the thought of doing it nearly makes me cry. Lois is already always worried about me. She watches me so closely, I hardly have time alone. Not even when I'm asleep because sometimes she watches me then too. I know because sometimes when I wake up during the middle of the night; which is actually quite often, I find her kneeling before my bed, head on her folded elbows, asleep.

If she finds out what happened to me, I won't be able to handle the added 'protection'. I'll crack. I know I will. It'll be just like when Clark found out I'd been kidnapped. He wouldn't let me out of his sight. And I just can't take any more of that right now.

It was suffocating.

At the thought of Clark, I _do _begin to cry. Silently. Not one sob escapes these lips, just the tears fall. I don't really _want _to cry, so I quickly brush the tears away and look down at my hands.

"Chloe?" Lana sighs before grabbing the hand closest to her. It wasn't easy as I've scooted away as far away from her as possible. Totally immature move, but I don't give a damn right now. I snatch my hand from hers and she sighs loudly.

"Lois can you give us a minute?"

"No," Lois stares back at her as if she's lost her mind.

"Lois, can you please give us minute?" Lana asks again.

"In _my _car?" Lois scoffs.

"Lois," Lana nearly whispers. "please."

I'm surprised; _really_ surprised when my cousin gets out of _her_ car; slamming _her_ door and takes about fifteen steps in the opposite direction. She keeps her back to us, arms crossed over her chest, silently fuming.

"Chloe," Lana starts almost immediately. "You know your cousin better than anyone else."

I keep staring down at my fingers.

"You know she wouldn't have ever believed this," she says while holding the forged document up to my face.

"Neither will anyone else," I snap back angrily.

"No, but you don't live with everyone else," she reminds me. "You don't have to answer to anyone else."

I stare at my fingers again; refusing to acknowledge she has a point. A very _small _point; but a point nonetheless.

"Chloe," she scoots closer to me, ignoring the fact that I shrink away from her. "What if Clark doesn't come back before the babies are born?"

"He is coming back!" I nearly yell.

She doesn't so much as flinch before resting a hand on my shoulder. "I know he's coming back Chloe."

She stares at me and I find myself calming down a little. I realize it's not even because the babies are physically connected right now. It's because I can see that like me, Lana sincerely believes Clark is going to come back. "

He always does. Always," she continues. Her words echo my thoughts exactly.

She steals a quick glance at Lois, who is currently watching the both of us before scooting even closer to me and dropping her voice to a whisper.

"Before, when Clark was still here; I was going to keep Lex under until after the birth, after having Clark sign as the father, and after giving him full custody. It was kinda sloppy, I know, but it was a solution.

I frown at her, when was she going to tell _me _this?

"But Chloe," she says, getting my attention back. "If he doesn't make it in time for your children's birth," she continues. "How odd do you think it would look for Lex Luthor's fiancé to just hand 'her' child over to you? Even if you're husband's the father, legally you'd have no ties to the baby; I didn't have a choice."

Lana holds the stupid paper up to me again. "And like I said, Lois was never going to believe this."

'_So you don't have a choice either' _I mentally finish for her. It's what she's saying to me without actually saying it.

~~{(O)(O)(O)(O)(O)(O)}~~

**A/N: **Next post will be Saturday, July 31st.


	14. Chapter 14

**Jeremy Shane: **Thank you!

**DS: **Thank you; glad you're liking it, and hope you enjoy the next part.

**The fallen sky: **Yeah, I just figured Lana would mature a little after being forced to be with and spy on Lex to protect Clark and all that jazz; and besides, Chloe _is _her friend; and I believe that even though they had such a huge blow out, the fact that Lex nearly killed Chloe just made her happy her friend's alive, and the other issues shrank a little. Not saying that they're not still there; but I'd like to think Lana'd choose an alive Chloe over a possible future with Clark. Rambling, sorry.

Thank you for your review, and I'm really flattered you read my other story. I don't expect you Chlarkers to; and don't think that just because it says my favorite Smallville couple is Lois and Clark in my profile that I'll do more 'Clois' than 'Chlark' stories. On contrary, what I love so much about Clark and Lois is their banter; and they do plenty of that in my Clark/Chloe stories as you can see.

I'm currently working on another Chlark story. It's called 'Boundaries'. I'll probably start posting that one in about three weeks; maybe sooner. I hope you get a chance to read it when I do. Okay, now I'm done for real.

**Dispatcher652: **lol. Totally agree. Poor Lois.

**Crazy girl writer: **No problem, and thank you for your support.

**Dizzy78: **Thank you, and yeah, the bomb was removed in 'I Promise' chapter 3… I think it was chapter 3 anyway.

~~{(O)(O)(O)(O)(O)(O)}~~

We have to tell Lois several times to get into the car once Lana's convinced me to tell her the truth. She doesn't move. It's almost like she's afraid to hear what we, _I _have to say. I doubt Lana will help me tell my cousin about what her fiancé did to me, _us_. In fact, I'm surprised she hasn't gotten out and decided to catch a cab.

Lana leans over the front seat, rolls the window down, and hunks the horn a few times. "Let's go! Move it Lane!"

I gap at her. Is she crazy? Lois is gonna kill her.

When Lois starts walking toward the car, Lana climbs over me and gets out via my door.

"I'm gonna call a cab," she says before hurrying toward a crowd and most importantly, witnesses.

I scowl at her retreating back. I can't believe she left me. Sort of. Okay, I would've left me too. In fact, I still want to leave me.

Lois gets into the driver's seat and… does nothing. She just sits there, holding on tightly to the steering wheel.

I sigh deeply and clumsily climb up into the passenger seat.

"I thought the front seat makes you dizzy," she says softly.

I'm not used to hearing her say anything softly. Not even when she tries to whisper. She's freaking out in a way that's _completely _foreign to me; and quite frankly, it's freaking me out. I don't know what to do; or what to expect, so I start off with the easy stuff first.

"I lied," I say.

"Obviously," she answers, and it doesn't take me long to figure out that she's referring to the 'front seat making me dizzy' comment.

"Not about that," I answer.

She tightens her grip on the steering wheel, and it doesn't take me long to figure out that she was still _hoping_ I was referring to the 'front seat making me dizzy' comment.

"Do you remember that time when I went off for a week?"

She frowns slightly. "You mean when you were trying to get away from Clark and I had to tell everyone you were on vacation because I didn't know where you were because you didn't tell me?" She rambles on while steadily getting angrier and angrier at my irresponsible actions.

"Yes Lois," I cut her off. "That week."

"Oh," she answers tersely. "Well then, yeah, I remember it fine," she answers through clenched teeth; obviously, she's remembering just how worried and upset she'd been by my sudden disappearance.

And now to let her know her worrying hadn't been for nothing. It really sucks for me that this is the 'easy' part as it's so damn hard.

"Lois, I wasn't on vacation; or taking a break from Clark. I was…I was…"

She turns to look at me once I seem to get stuck; and it makes me gulp. She's staring at me with a look on her face that's practically daring me to come up with a good enough excuse for why I made her worry for seven full days.

'_Just say it Sullivan,'_ I try to egg myself on.

I take a deep breath before going with an almost inaudible, "I was missing."

"What do you mean by _missing_?" She asks with narrowed eyes.

"I mean I was kidnapped."

She doesn't respond at all. There's no gaping, jaw dropping, gasping, 'oh my godding'; nothing. Absolutely no sign that she's heard me at all.

I watch her closely, my gaze settling on her eyebrows because I can't exactly look her in the eyes; but via my peripheral vision, I can see them just fine. She's staring at me, probably waiting for me to say 'just kidding' and tell her what's really going on.

I sigh, and look out the window, nervously wringing my hands together. I've never been a 'hand wringer' before; and the thought makes me want to cry. In fact, I am crying. _Again._

'_Damn it.'_

I close my eyes when I feel Lois reach over and grab my hand. It doesn't make me feel better at all.

It's…weird.

I don't like it at all, and I have to make a conscious effort not to snatch my hand away from hers. It feels…empty. Almost like a baby crying for milk, but the mother's run out so she puts water in the bottle instead.

I open my eyes when I hear a light tapping on my window.

It's Lana.

I nearly smile and roll the window down.

"Maybe we should do this together," she suggests while leaning her elbows on the windowsill and offering a hand out to me.

I nod my head in agreement and take it.

Lois just looks at us, waiting. It's the first time she hasn't made a comment on our 'relationship'.

~{(O)(O)(O)}~

I'm having one of those dreams. You know the ones where subconsciously you realize it's just a dream; but at the same time, it's so vividly real that it can't _possibly_ be a dream.

I'm at work. Realistic enough way to start out because it's the only place I ever go. I'm even working on a story.

A good one too.

It's a serial kidnapping case in which newlywed couples keep coming up missing or dead.

'_If Clark were here, we could go undercover and investigate this,' _I think bitterly to myself.

See what I mean? Even that was completely realistic because majority of my thoughts tend to be bitter these days.

I gasp a little and clutch at my stomach. I should really be getting used to this, but I can't. It hurts. He's been kicking me a _lot _more often than usual for the past couple of days.

I sigh. If Clark were here, he'd say we couldn't do it because of the baby; and because it's dangerous.

Who am I kidding? If Clark were here, he wouldn't even think about letting me work during my pregnancy.

I look down at my watch and glare it. I'm starving; but according to this I just ate half an hour ago.

I stand up; I don't give a damn if I just ate. I'm going on lunch. Again. Tess can fire me if she wants. It's not like I _wanted _to work here in the first place.

It doesn't take me long to gather my things. I have to pack light because of the fact that I have to walk to wherever I want to eat. My car's still at the farm because Lois drops me off.

Then I freeze when I look up toward the exit.

Clark's there. The real Clark. Not some guy I'd mistaken as him because he was tall, or had dark hair, or was just…a guy; but _my _Clark.

"Clark," I whisper.

He gives me a small smile and I run to him; ignoring the fact that everyone's watching; ignoring how completely absurd a crying, yelling, running, pregnant woman must look.

"Clark!" I slam into him.

Immediately, he wraps his arms around me. It feels good, and right, and familiar, and real.

I inhale deeply. He _smells _good, and right, and familiar, and real; but…

"Chloe. Chloe wake up. Chloe!"

I feel myself coming to, and I fight it. Hard. I'm happy right now. For the first time in a long time, I'm so _happy_.

I begin to shiver, and involuntarily my eyes open up.

"Chloe?"

There are arms around me; but they're not Clark's. They must belong to Lana because I should be feeling a million times worse than I'm feeling right now; which is saying something, because I'm absolutely miserable. I'm actually crying. And though I've cried a million times, they were all silent cries.

Not this time.

"He's not here," Lana repeats over and over again while rubbing my back soothingly.

I keep crying and the sounds I make are loud, really loud. That's when I realize I'm in the fortress and that my cries are being echoed back to me.

I've been sleepwalking.

"He's not here," Lana continues to say soothingly, and I have to admit I like it better than the usual 'it's going to be okay' line. No matter how devastating the realization may be.

"But I want him to be," I sob back.

She nods her head. "Me too," she whispers.

~~{(O)(O)(O)(O)(O)(O)}~~

**A/N: **Next post will be Wednesday, august 4th .


	15. Chapter 15

**Jeremy Shane: **Thanks!

**The fallen Sky: **thank you! I'm just putting Chloe through it so that it'll be that much sweeter when Clark _does_ come home.

We're on the same page. I loved season 4 Lois and Clark, season nine Clois is kinda….mushy. Loved your rambling. Lol. And yes, it's Wednesday .

**Dispatcher652: **Agreed. I can't wait for Clark to come back. Chloe's going through hell.

**DS: **Lol. It's coming, don't worry.

**Shonnia22: **Thank you! It's so funny how we had to get used to the Chlana handholding thing.

**Madlenita: **Thanks, sorry about your computer though.

**Dizzy78: **You'll see in this chapter;)

**~~{(O)(O)(O)(O)(O)(O)}~~**

Naturally, Lois is waiting up for us when we get home.

Us; as in me _and _Lana. It was Lois's idea for Lana to spend the night. I guess she figured I'd need her support tonight; and I will admit she was right. It's scary how well Lois knows me sometimes.

"Hello Love birds," She says as soon as we get inside.

I sigh. She hasn't changed much. Well, besides the suggesting Lana stay the night thing; but other than that, she hasn't let up on the dirty comments. I was expecting her to. Well, I was more like _hoping _she would; but I guess it's her way of coping.

I wish she'd find another.

"I got another question," she says as if I hadn't just been sleepwalking. As if I hadn't just been walking, outside, to God knows where, during the middle of the night, with my eyes closed.

I sigh again and roll my eyes. She's been 'gotting anther question' since Lana and I told her what's going on. Well, Lana actually had to do most of the talking as I was in tears majority of the time.

It was Lana who suggested we go back to the farm to talk, rather than finish the conversation in the car. Lois didn't want to of course. She wanted to know what was going on right then and there. I expected that of her too.

How could I say "I was kidnapped" and expect Lois to wait fifteen minutes for me to explain the details?

In the end, Lana persuaded her that it would be better for everyone, including the babies if we were in a more comfortable environment. Or some bull crap she spilled that Lois surprisingly bought. Or she probably figured we weren't going to say anything until we got to the farm. Probably the latter, as Lana was most likely going to be the one to do all the talking because I cry too much.

When we got to the farm, Lois immediately sat us down on the couch before sitting down on the one across from us. Yes, she physically sat us down herself, as if to say, 'no more stalling, no bathroom breaks, no 'I'm thirsty' breaks, just sit right here and tell me what the fuck is going on'.

Lana and I both glanced at each other, eyebrows raised. Sure, we were mirroring each other's expressions, but I think I was a lot more afraid than she was.

"And none of that!"

We jumped and face her. Okay, we were the same amount of afraid. Lana just didn't have the crying thing going on, and so it made her look braver.

Then I piped up, and together, Lana and I told her as much as we could without revealing Clark's secret. Starting with the easiest, but not so easy thing first; _who _took me.

At the mention of Lex's name, I had to jump in front of Lana; practically, squashing her and my baby.

Lois was yelling at the both of us while simultaneously trying to get to Lana. Asking how Lana could show her face after deciding to marry the monster; asking me how I could be her friend still, let alone hold her hand all the time. And trust me; that was the clean version. The real yelling went on forever, and contained every swear word you could think of, as well as a couple she made up on the spot.

It wasn't until I told her that if she hurt Lana, she'd hurt my baby too, that she let up. Well, I really had to yell it, at the top of my lungs actually. Lois was just that loud. But what I said made her calm down, sort of. She stopped trying to wrap her hands around Lana's throat anyway.

I figured she'd want to know how the hell Lana ended up carrying my child, more than she'd want to kill her. Her curiosity always gets the best of her. She should really think about being a reporter rather than being Mrs. Kent's chief of staff.

She'd be good at it.

"Well, When Lex took me and Lana"-

"Wait a minute," Lois interrupted me. "Lex took his own fiancé too? I don't even remember Lana going missing," she scoffed disbelievingly.

I rolled my eyes at her; and judging by the look she gave us, I would've bet almost anything that Lana rolled her eyes at the same exact time I did.

"No Lois; Lana and Lex weren't engaged yet. And do you honestly pay enough attention to Lana to know when she goes missing?"

"You know what I meant," Lois snapped back while towering over me; oh and glaring. She was definitely glaring. "They might not have been engaged yet, but they were still a couple."

I blink a few times. Maybe I did know what she meant; but did she really have to yell at me like that?

"So, Lex took the both of you," she continued while ignoring my tears.

"And," I sniffed a few times. "And;" but I didn't really know where to go after that. Well, I knew _where _to go; I just didn't know how to get there.

"And?" she prompted, a little harshly in my opinion. "What happened after that?"

"Well I…uh," I looked over at Lana; and in turn she leaned in and whispered the answer to me. I don't blame her for being a little weary of speaking out loud just then. Everything we had to say was bad, and bad, and bad, and disturbing.

I looked back at Lois and took a deep breath. What Lana suggested was a good idea, as it would either make Lois draw the right conclusion, or make it easier to ease into what we had to say next.

"I uh...Well I…" and when I couldn't say it, Lana grabbed my hand. I thought it was a very brave move; all things considered, so I figured I could be brave too. "I used to be pregnant with twins," I blurted out before I could lose my nerve.

I can remember the way Lois clutched at her chest, and shook her head, and widened her eyes; and I can remember thinking she was having a heart attack; and that let me know she'd come up with the right conclusion.

Don't get me wrong, Lois is a smart woman; and even for a stupid woman, logically, there was only _one _conclusion to draw. I mean, I was pregnant with twins; then Lana and I were kidnapped by Lex; and now I'm not pregnant with twins; and now Lana's pregnant; and she's exactly as far along as I am, and she said she's carrying Clark and my child….Yeah, there is definitely only one conclusion for a person to draw; but a Lois in denial can come up with some pretty creative things.

"How is that even possible?...I mean, how did he…It's not even possible," She concluded with a shake of her head.

"_He_ didn't do it Lois," I answered. "Lex paid someone else to do it."

That response made her glare at me again. I guess she didn't fully appreciate my attempt to lighten a mood that was simply unlightenable at the time.

"He's rich," I shrugged. "His only job is to figure out how to do the impossible."

"Why?"

I looked at Lana when Lois asked that. What did she mean by _why_?

"Why would Lex do that? I mean, what would be the purpose of…" She pointed from my stomach to Lana's, obviously unable to verbalize the act of extracting and planting a human child from one uterus to another. "Couldn't he just have made his own…or adopted…or kidnapped one," she added desperately. "Like you said, he _is _rich. What's so special about you and Smallville that he'd want to take your kid?"

I took a deep breath. That wasn't denial talking. Those were good questions. Questions that were nearly impossible to answer without telling her Clark's secret.

Lana gave my hand a quick squeeze and let go. Somehow, I knew that was her way of telling me she was going to answer that particular question.

"Chloe's meteor infected," she said without hesitation, as if she didn't know she would shock the crap out of Lois _and _me. "Lex has a slight obsession with the meteor infected, and I suppose he wanted to _observe _a second generation child." She finished, careful to avoid using the word 'experiment'.

I can remember the way I looked over at her; silently asking if it was just another cover story or if it was the truth; and desperately hoping it wasn't the latter. But the way she looked back at me, almost like she was apologizing, let me know she was serious.

Unsurprisingly, the tears began to fall from my eyes yet again. Most of the meteor freaks I knew ended up dead or in Belle Reeve. And once I was done fretting over my inevitable fate, death or a mental institute, I began to worry about my son. There's kryptonite in my system. How is that going to affect him? How has it affected him so far? And I have no doubt that it has. Why else would he be so restless? Why else would all of my pregnancy symptoms be ten times worse than that of your average expectant mother? He's probably in pain or…

"Hello, earth to Chloe."

I blink when I realize Lois is waving her hand in front of my face. I'd been so intent on thinking about my baby, I'd completely forgotten about Lois and her question she needed to ask.

"I said, 'why did Lex just let you go after all that?' Wouldn't he _not_ want to leave evidence and such?"

"Uh," I look back at Lana, hoping she'd be willing to take this one. She might if I start crying; but when I look back, she's gone.

"Your girlfriend went to the bathroom," Lois says.

"Oh," I answer before making an attempt to walk up the stairs.

She steps in front of me. "Uh, no."

I sigh. There's something I need to do. Something very important. I don't really have time for this so I tug at my shirt a little, pulling it down over my shoulder a little to reveal a small scar.

"He didn't _just_ let me go. He planted a bomb in my chest and let me go. Apparently, he didn't expect me to survive; but I got it removed," I surmise for her before trying to head upstairs again.

"What!"

I sigh. I didn't really expect her to let me go; but I figured she'd see how eager I was to leave and make her yelling and ranting as short as possible.

She doesn't.

In fact, it seems to have enticed her even more. So I stand there for all of ten minutes, which may not seem like a long time; but for someone to be yelling in your face about how you should've told her this, and she can't believe you didn't tell her that, and why the hell you didn't mention this, and how she gonna kill that…him; ten minutes is a _very_ long time.

So long in fact, that the only reason Lois actually stops yelling is because she's lost her voice mid-sentence; so with a point of her finger she sends me to my bedroom. Which is fine by me; it's where I want to go.

Lana's already asleep in the bed when I get upstairs. If I was in a different state of mind, I'd wake her up and let her have it for leaving me to answer Lois by myself.

I grab my phone off the dresser and fish around in my purse. It takes me a few minutes but I find it_. It_ being Dr. Loveleigh's card. I realize it's two o'clock in the morning, but when he gave it to me, he _did _say I could call anytime. Two o'clock in the morning counts as anytime.

"Hello?" he answers on the third ring, and I feel relieved. He doesn't sound like I just woke him up, and it makes me feel better.

"Dr.-Charlie, I need to set an appointment."

"For when?"

"Now."

~~{(O)(O)(O)(O)(O)(O)}~~

**A/N: **I know, I'm sorry I didn't have Lois's reaction in the last chapter, but it was so long, it was practically its own chapter, so I kinda just cut it. Also, the meteor infected Chloe reveal, wasn't really much of a cliff hanger, as it is canon, So I thought this way would be better. I hope you enjoyed it.

Next post will be Sunday, August 8th.


	16. Chapter 16

**Jeremy Shane: **Thanks!

**The fallen sky: **Lol. The last story's going to have an M rating; but I'm pretty sure you're expecting that. And sorry about Charlie again.

Lol. Definitely not horrified. I happen to like me, and I like you. Well; as well as anyone could like someone they've never met before; so everything's all good.

**Dispatcher652: **It's Sunday! Hope you're satisfied;)

**Madlenita: **Thank you!

**Karrtoonmonkey: **I'm flattered you think so highly of the series, I hope you enjoy the rest.

**Dizzy78: **What look-a-like? Charlie's just her doctor, don't worry.

~~{(O)(O)(O)(O)(O)(O)}~~

"Do you want me to go with you?"

I start at the sound of Lana's voice and whirl around to face her. She sitting up straight; legs dangling over the side of the bed, hands folded in her lap.

I thought she was asleep.

"I thought you were asleep?" I scowl at her; verbalizing my thoughts without actually intending to.

"I'm not," she points out as if I can't see that for myself.

"Well then 'un-I'm not,'" I answer rudely, basically telling her to go back to sleep. Like always, she ignores my snapping and says something I don't want to hear.

"The baby is fine Chloe; and I really don't think Lois will be in the mood to take you to see the doctor right now anyway. She's still kinda mad,"

"Lois isn't taking me," I answer shortly before turning around and trying to find a pair of shoes. Any pair will do.

"Did you tell _her _that?"

"No," I answer through clenched teeth. She's asking too many damn questions for my taste.

"What are you going to do; sneak past her or ask for permission to go?" She asks in a tone that suggests neither will work out in my favor, yet they're my only options; which means I can't go at all.

"I don't need Lois's permission to go anywhere," I snap.

Lana raises her eyebrows, makes a scoffing noise through her nose, rolls her eyes, then lays down; quickly rolling over and showing her back to me.

I scowl angrily at her back. It's what I wanted, for her to turn over and carry her interfering ass back to sleep; but I don't like the way she just did it. It was as if she was dismissing me, and though I'm angry as hell, tears of hurt and frustration begin to brim over.

'_Damn hormones.'_

I sniff loudly.

Lana's right though; and even if I was planning on sneaking past Lois, I can't. She hides my keys from me.

~~{(O)(O)(O)}~~

"Chloe? …Chloe!"

I come to, only slightly disoriented.

It scares me. Not because I've been sleep/daywalking again; but because I'm getting used to it. Which is bad. Really bad. Or weird. Really weird.

First, I quickly take in my surroundings. Finding out where the hell I am is always my first priority. In no time at all, I realize I'm at home, in the living room, on the floor.

'_Why the hell am I on the floor?'_

I frown a little. I stopped asking myself why I was _wherever _a long time ago; but then again I rarely wake up at home, and I never lay down on the living room floor so…

"Chloe?"

My frown deepens and I look up. 'How long have I been out?' is usually the next question I try to answer myself; but that voice; it doesn't belong to Lana, or Lois, or even Oliver. It belongs to _him_. My doctor, Charlie.

What the hell is he doing here? What the hell did I do this time? I look around me; I don't know why but I'm slightly panicked.

Where the hell is Lana?

"Chloe, can you hear me?"

"Where's Lana?" I ask again; but out loud this time.

Something's not right. I know it. I can _feel _it. Why else isn't she here? The last thing I remember is almost crying while staring at her back, and now she's not here? She would be down here if she were still here. There's no way she'd be still asleep upstairs. She always comes to get me when I sleepwalk.

Always.

So where the hell is she?

"Ms. Lane, I think she's going into shock; can you just"-

I sit up quickly while muttering that 'I'm fine'. I now realize the panicked where's Lana hissy fit I just threw hadn't actually taken place in my head; that I'd said all of that out loud…and I'm far from finished.

"Where is she?" I insist.

Charlie lays a reassuring hand on my back, and I begin to shake. I just know it's because he has some bad news to tell me and he doesn't want me to faint or freak out or whatever.

"Where is she?" I look away from him and at my cousin.

Lois hates quiet. It makes her uncomfortable, yet she's been quiet this whole time, except for the first time she called my name and woke me up. I'm sure it was her because LANA'S NOT HERE!

"Lois, please?" I beg.

"Lana's fine Chloe," Lois sends a glance Charlie's way, probably seeing just how much she can get away with not telling me, or how much she _should _tell me.

I'm getting tired of crying, but I do it anyway. Lois is too serious. If Lana really _is_ fine, she'd make a joke about me worrying too much over my 'girlfriend' or something like that. Right?

Charlie begins to rub my back a little, and it only makes me cry harder. I don't even know what the hell is going on yet, but to be comforted by a doctor is a bad sign. Really bad. Right?

"Please just tell me where she is," I croak out. I really want to know if my friend is okay; because I really need to know if my baby is okay.

"Chloe, she's at the hospital; but she's absolutely _fine_," I ignore the emphasis Charlie puts on the word 'fine', because I know he's lying. He has to be, or there wouldn't be such a depressing and foreboding feeling in the atmosphere.

"Why?" I look at Lois purposely. My cousin isn't going to lie to me. "What's wrong with her?"

"There's nothing wrong with _Lana,_" Lois clarifies. "She's not the patient, she's there with…"

"With?" I prompt. I can feel myself beginning to feel relieved; but not all the way. Someone's still hurt. Someone I know obviously because of Lois and Charlie's reluctance to tell me _who _it is.

Lois takes a few steps closer and kneels down before me, placing both hands on my knees.

"Aunt Moira," she says.

"Aunt…Mom?...my mom?"

"She's doing fine. She's been asking for you, if you...if you feel up to it," Lois answers before I can ask about her. "Are _you_ okay?" Lois asks.

I frown at her. Why wouldn't I be okay?

I barely realize Charlie's checking me out until he puts something cold on my chest. I look over at him. It's a stethoscope. Then I look down, and I see all of his tools are scattered around me. He works fast; checking heartbeats and temperatures and bloodpressures.

"All done and all's well," he announces while packing up his stuff a few minutes later.

I'm still frowning slightly, wandering what the hell happened during my black out. My mother's in the hospital, and not the mental one, but she's 'fine', and My cousin and doctor are checking me as if I should have broken body parts, or some kind of heart failure, or _something_.

"Get a goodnight's rest Chloe," he commands while walking toward the door.

I get up and head toward the door to see him out.

Goodnight's rest my ass. As soon as he leaves, I'm going to the hospital. I want to see my mother. I want to see Lana. I want answers.

He turns back around to face me and I cross my arms over my chest, preparing for _it_. There's no doubt in my mind that he's going to tell me that I should save the hospital visit for tomorrow.

"We should go out and have lunch tomorrow."

I just stare at him. That wasn't what I was expecting at all.

"I don't think that's such a good idea," I answer while nervously twisting my wedding ring.

"Okay, he shrugs his shoulders, and he looks so relieved by my answer, it peaks my curiosity a little.

"Wait," I call when he turns his back.

He hesitates, like he's afraid I've changed my mind; and that _really _peaks my interests.

"Just forget about it," he answers with a smile.

Fat chance.

"I can do lunch with you tomorrow," I announce.

"No really, it's okay"

"Where and what time?" I ask.

"The diner across from The Daily Planet" he smiles suddenly. I can feel Lois behind me and I roll my eyes; expecting her to tell me I can't go.

"Are you picking her up from here or do you want me to drive her over?" Lois asks, wearing a smile of her own.

"I'll pick her up from here," he answers as if I'm not here. Then he leaves without so much as a goodbye.

"Did you two plan that?" I ask Lois once Charlie drives off.

"No, but it's a _good_ thing Chloe. You need _someone_ right now."

"I have someone," I spit back, quickly getting angry. What the hell is she talking about? I'm married.

I put my left hand up; showing Lois my wedding ring, just in case she's forgotten.

"Chloe," she sighs. "Has it ever occurred to you that Clark's not coming back? That he might be"-

I smack her across the face. Hard.

So hard that I can see a red hand print begin to form on her cheek_ immediately_.

Then I walk away.

I'm not afraid of her right now; and I sure as hell don't feel sorry for what I did. I just keep walking and I never look back. Not once.

When I get upstairs, I walk past the guestroom, and go into my room. The room that belongs to both me and my husband.

I find that notebook. That stupid journal that the stupid shrink wanted me to write in so damn bad and grab a pen. I scribble down thirteen words. They may not be legible due to my shaking hands and blurry eyes; but _I_ know what it says.

I read the words over and over again; until I fall asleep with the note book in my hand.

Sometime during the night, I hear Lois come in the room. I feel her tuck me in; and I feel her take the notebook out of my hand.

"When Clark comes back, I _promise_, I'll be right here waiting for him," She whispers the words I've written.

I hear her sigh heavily before sitting the book down, kissing my forehead, and crying for me.

~the end~

~~{(O)(O)(O)(O)(O)(O)}~~

**A/N: **Betcha can't guess what the title of the next story is? Lol. If you can, I'll grant you one request for the next and final installment of this series. Please try to make it doable and not outlandish. Also, you might have to private message it to me so that you don't give the answer away to other readers; but I'm sure it's more than obvious;)

Next story will be posted Sunday , August 22nd.


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